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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668171">Fairy Tail: Secret Sage Saga</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeakyclarinet/pseuds/Squeakyclarinet'>Squeakyclarinet</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail: Secret Sage Saga [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Magic, Team as Family</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:27:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>33,812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668171</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeakyclarinet/pseuds/Squeakyclarinet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucy Heartfilia always wanted to join Fairy Tail, and when a chance meeting with their members results in her joining the Guild she couldn't be more excited. But she soon finds herself in over her head, becoming wrapped up in a myriad of adventures as she helps her new friends deal with their pasts and face their future. </p><p>Sequel to Irene Belserion: Queen of the Fairies</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Natsu Dragneel &amp; Lucy Heartfilia &amp; Lisanna Strauss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail: Secret Sage Saga [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Salamander</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy Heartfilia has a chance encounter and makes some new friends, creating bonds that will last a lifetime.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucy Heartfilia walked down the streets of Hargeon looking down at the silver key in her hand. She had mixed feelings currently about the object in her hand. On one hand she was thrilled to receive a new key. As a Celestial Spirit Mage, it was more than just a fancy trinket. It was a gate to meeting a new Celestial Spirit, a new friend. But on the other hand, it had cost way more than she had expected. She barely got a discount, even after using her sex appeal to her most. Is 1000 Jewels really all her looks were worth? She really needed to join a Magic Guild and make some money. Luckily, she wouldn't have to wait much longer. Her number one choice for employment was just a train ride away!</p><p>She just needed to make sure to not go broke before getting there. As much as she wished she didn't contribute to that silly stereotype of the ignorant rich girl, her old lifestyle didn't really help her learn any frugal spending techniques. As she walked along, she reached a plaza and looked up from her key in befuddlement at the sight in front of her. She could see women all around her crowding around something.</p><p>"Eeee!"</p><p>"It's really him!"</p><p>"Mr. Salamander!"</p><p>"Sign my face!"</p><p><em>What the hell?</em> Lucy looked at the growing crowd of woman in confusion. She was pretty sure that Salamander was the name of one of the members of Fairy Tail. Could he really be here? This town <em>was </em>close to Magnolia. She began to make her way through the crowd to see if there was any truth to this claim. If so, this could be her one-way ticket to Fairy Tail's illustrious Guild Hall. She finally reached the front of the mob, pushing two other women to the side a bit forcefully, and got a look at the man that everyone was going wild over…</p><p>And she couldn't help but join them. "It's really him…" she said dreamily. His face was perfect, from his expertly cut purple hair, that great jawline, and eyes that looked straight into her heart. Lucy stared at the Salamander, in awe of the purple fire dancing around him, and overtaken by his cheer charisma. This had to be him, the Salamander of Fairy Tail! She began to reach out to the man, hoping to get his attention and-</p><p>
  <em>*Bang*</em>
</p><p>Lucy and the other girls jumped back as something dropped out of the sky next to Salamander, kicking up a cloud of dust. As the dust settled, she could make out another man laying facedown in on the brick plaza. As he picked himself up, Lucy couldn't help but admire the man, her previous idol completely forgotten. His spiky hair was a beautiful color of pink, and the dopy look on his face as he looked around confused was kinda cute. As he got up, Lucy couldn't help but trace her eyes along the chiseled chest she could see through the open vest he was wearing. His arms were covered by a bulkier red coat, but she could guess they were just as impressive. To top it all off, he was wearing a distinctive white scarf around his neck.</p><p><em>Wait</em>, why did that sound so familiar.</p><p>The pinkette finally turned to face the only other man around the baffled ring of fans. "Hey, I heard people saying something about the Salamander. Do you know if he's around here?" he asked seriously.</p><p>The purple haired man stood stunned for a moment before finally regaining his composure, putting on the same face as before. Lucy looked at the Salamander and didn't feel as swooned as she did before. Honestly, he seemed like a totally different person for some reason. "Ah, are you perhaps one of my male fans? I'm so glad to see your enthusiasm to meet me. Here, would you like an autograph?" He reached into his coat and pulled out a board out of seemingly nowhere, and with a twirl of his fingers, a magic pen appeared in the other. In a flurry of movements, he had written '<em>Salamander</em>' in stylized lettering on the surface, before handing the board to the other man. "Well, it's been fun meeting you all, but I have to get back to port. Don't forget, I'm having a party on my boat now that lasts all night, and all you wonderful ladies are invited." He suddenly flew up on a snaking pillar of purple fire. "Sayonara for now!" he shouted dramatically, as he flew off to port.</p><p>The rest of the girls shrieked, and ran off toward the port, exclaiming how handsome the great Salamander was, or what to wear to the party, except for Lucy. She stood there; attention still stolen by the pink haired man who had just received the autograph. The man studied the board carefully, as if trying to discern some secret meaning from the writing on it, before finally speaking. "There's no way Igneel would be able to write this fancily. She was right, I should have known this would be a bust…" he muttered as his hands suddenly burst into flames, burning the autograph to ashes. Lucy's eyes finally widened in recognition. Pink hair, white scarf, Fire Magic, the perfect bod- <em>no Lucy focus</em>! The man standing in front of her was the real deal.</p><p>"Wait a minute, you're the real Sal-Hmmph?!" Lucy suddenly found her mouth covered by a hand. She looked back in confusion and followed the slender arm back to a woman her age with short white hair. She put a figure to her lip, seeming to know the truth, but didn't want it to be said.</p><p>"Lisanna, what are you doing to that girl?" the man asked as he looked over to the two of them suspiciously.</p><p>"I was just inviting this lovely lady to lunch with us. You want to get lunch now, right Natsu?" Lisanna said in a voice that implied that yes was the only available answer.</p><p>Natsu looked suspiciously again at Lisanna, before his stomach growled loudly. He sighed in defeat before walking toward them. "Alright, but don't expect me to pay for everything again."</p><p>Another entity suddenly shot down from the sky, floating down in front of Natsu. "Natsu, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop you!"</p><p>"Don't worry about it Happy, it was my fault. I was the one who started flailing around when I heard people talking about the Salamander." he said to the flying blue cat in front of him.</p><p>"It was! You should give me an extra fish for making worrying so much." Happy pouted.</p><p>"You're starting to sound like Lisanna, it wasn't that bad." Natsu scoffed, before realizing he was standing in front of said woman, who had developed a rather scary grin.</p><p>"Hey Natsu, I think you should give Happy that extra serving…" Lisanna said a little too happily.</p><p>"…Okay." he said, complying immediately.</p><p>"Alright. Now that that's all settled, lets go." Lisanna said, wrapping an arm around Lucy's before dragging them off toward a nearby diner. Lucy just let herself be led off with a growing sense of dread.</p><p>
  <em>What have I got myself into?</em>
</p><hr/><p>After perusing their options, the group found themselves inside a nearby diner, sitting at a table near the window. On one side sat Lisanna and Lucy, who were both eating their dishes with proper manners and etiquette. In contrast, Natsu and Happy sat on the other side, making quite the mess. Happy had gotten fish bones and juices everywhere, and Natsu had eaten his disappointment away with a pile of nearly a dozen different dishes, leaving plates and bowls stacked haphazardly near the edge of the table for their poor waiter. When everyone had finished eating, Lucy looked back up to Natsu before speaking. "You're Natsu from Fairy Tail. They call you the Salamander, right?"</p><p>"Huh? Oh yeah, I think the papers call me that sometimes." he said embarrassed, surprised by the recognition.</p><p>"I knew it!" she said loudly, before realizing she had drawn the attention of the other customers. She shrunk down before continuing to speak to Natsu. "So that guy was impersonating you! Is that why you came here?"</p><p>"Nah, I heard a rumour about a Salamander and thought it might be Igneel." he said dismissively. Lucy looked at him confused, so Happy tried to help her out.</p><p>"He's Natsu's dad!" Happy said.</p><p>"He's also a <em>Dragon</em>." Lisanna added, producing a shocked look from Lucy. "I told you he wouldn't be in the middle of a port town of all things."</p><p>"It was on the way back from our job, it wasn't that big a deal. Besides, I gotta search any rumour I get no matter how small it is, right Happy?" Natsu said.</p><p>"Aye!" the feline said, throwing a paw up in agreement. Lisanna just sighed before looking over at Lucy, who shot a pitying look back. She couldn't imagine dealing with these two all the time.</p><p>Lucy was still hung up on what Lisanna had said. "So, a dragon? You were raised… by a dragon?"</p><p>Natsu nodded proudly. "Yep taught me everything I know. He even helped me learn Dragon Slayer Magic."</p><p>"Why would a Dragon teach someone Dragon Slayer Magic?" Lucy asked even more confused.</p><p>Happy raised a paw and opened his mouth but froze before he could answer. He turned to Natsu for an answer, but he just shrugged. "I don't know, because it was cool, I guess?"</p><p>"…Well, it's a good thing we did come here, or else we might not have found that man." Lisanna said seriously, ignoring the awkwardly unanswered question to focus on more important information.</p><p>"What? He's just some two-bit performer, is it really that big a deal?" Natsu asked confused. Lisanna just dragged her hand along her face in exasperation.</p><p>"He's not your average conman, he's impersonating you. Not to mention he's Charm Magic, which has been illegal to use for years." Lucy said. Natsu gave her a look that said he understood nothing she said. "Salamander is your nickname. He's pretending to be you to attract that crowd, then ensnaring them with his Charm Magic. People don't usually get that whipped up by a few street performances. I was caught up in it too until you dropped in and distracted me." More specifically distracted by his looks, but they didn't need to know that.</p><p>"She's right." Lisanna said nodding. "Even I thought he was the real thing for a moment, even though I knew you, Natsu. You're pretty perceptive, uh…" she suddenly stopped before turning to look at Lucy embarrassed. "I just realized, we kinda kidnapped you for lunch-"</p><p>"<em>You</em> kidnapped her." Natsu butt in.</p><p>"Whatever. And we didn't even get your name." she finished.</p><p>"It's Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia. I don't mind though, really." It was Lucy's turn to look embarrassed. "I was actually trying to join your guild. I thought that guy was a member of Fairy Tail and was about to ask him to help me get in. Pretty silly, huh?"</p><p>"It's pretty serious actually." Natsu said. "I don't care much about him impersonating me, but if it'll make the guild look bad then I say let's go teach this guy a lesson!" he said pounding a fist into his palm, grinning devilishly.</p><p>"Never mind the fact that he's probably using illegal magic to ferry away girls in the middle of the night. Is food and friends all you can think about?" Lisanna asked sarcastically.</p><p>"Why don't we just tell the guards?" Lucy said.</p><p>"That's a good idea, but he'll probably leave tonight. I doubt the authorities will just grab him because we said so." Lisanna said.</p><p>"But we have the real 'Salamander' right here. It shouldn't be that hard to explain, right?" Lucy insisted.</p><p>Lisanna looked deep in thought. "I suppose it's worth a shot."</p><hr/><p>After paying for their meals, the three Mages made a beeline toward the center of town after asking for directions to the guard's garrison. As they walked up to the office of the local authorities, Natsu sniffed at the air for the fifth time since they began their trek. "Uhh, what are you doing?" Lucy asked.</p><p>Natsu looked around for a moment, before speaking in a hushed voice. "We were being followed."</p><p>"<em>Were</em>?" Lisanna questioned.</p><p>"He followed us into the restaurant and left it when we did. He seems to have just left." Natsu said.</p><p>"Well nothing we can do about it now, lets just tell the authorities about the whole situation." Lisanna shrugged.</p><p>When they entered the building, they saw lightly armored guards sitting around either doing paperwork or just waiting for something to happen. They all turned to the group who entered, and one of them came up to the Mages. "Is there something we can help the three of you with?" he asked in a gruff voice.</p><p>Lisanna and Lucy explained the situation, not trusting Natsu add all the necessary details, and the guards were surprisingly understanding. It turned out they had been weirded out by this mystery man as well, but not for the same reasons they suspected.</p><p>"He acted nothing like a member of Fairy Tail." one of the guards said. "Normally they pop into town, break a bunch of laws and property, cause a few thousand Jewels in property damage, and leave without saying a word."</p><p>Another one crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my buddy from Magnolia told me all about it. But this guy stuck around and kept making a big show in the plaza. He hadn't done anything illegal though, so we just sent his description to the higher ups to see if anything came up."</p><p>The Captain of the bunch, as seen by the decorations on his shoulder pad, got up from his seat. "If your claim about him using Charm Magic is true, then we should be able to search his boat. Besides, someone impersonating a member of a Magic Guild is almost always up to no good anyway. All right team, lets get going."</p><p>After a few moments of gearing up, the Captain gathered his group of a dozen men and walked out of the station with the three Mages in tow ready to investigate the matter personally. As they began walking toward the port, they saw two fancily dressed women walking toward them in the opposite direction, clearly in a foul mood.</p><p>"I can't believe his boat left port already. So much for an all-night party…" one of them moaned.</p><p>"Yeah seriously, does he want us to swim there?" the other complained loudly.</p><p>Lisanna suddenly snapped her attention to the two women, running up to them. "Wait, the boat left already?!"</p><p>The two looked over at the interruption in surprise before continuing. "Yeah. Some pudgy guy ran onto the boat, and suddenly the boat steamed off. Looks like none of us are getting a face to face with the Salamander, huh."</p><p>"Dammit!" Lisanna exclaimed, producing gasps from the two ladies she was speaking to. She turned back to the group alarmed. "Natsu, the guy following us! They know we're coming!"</p><p>"I knew it! Happy, give me a lift." Natsu said, pointing to his back.</p><p>"Aye Sir!" Happy said, and a set of wings sprouted from of his back next to his green guild mark. He grabbed the back of Natsu's jacket, and the two began to fly up.</p><p>Natsu turned to look back at the two girls. "Lisanna, just wait right here. I'll be right back, so don't do anything stupid." He said before shooting of toward the port.</p><p>The Captain raised his spear. "Looks like we got a job to do, double time it people." His squad let out a roar, before they began to sprint off in the same direction, leaving Lisanna and Lucy alone.</p><p>Lisanna just stood there looking down at the road, balling her fists. "Just wait here? What am I, a porcelain doll?"</p><p>"Lisanna?" Lucy asked concerned. The girl in question looked up over to her with a rebellious look in her eyes.</p><p>"Hey Lucy?"</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Let's go do something stupid." she said angrily, finally running off with the rest of them. Lucy just followed after her hoping that neither of the Fairy Tail Mages did anything too stupid.</p><hr/><p>On the deck of the 'Salamander's ship, a crew member with a telescope shouted to the rest of the crew in surprise. "There's someone flying right at us!"</p><p>"What?" the 'Salamander' said, grabbing the device and looking back in the direction of the port. Sure enough, there was a pink haired man heading toward them, courtesy of a blue cat with wings on his back. "Shit, it's the guy from before. I knew he was investigating us." he looked down to the port, seeing the guards trying to get their sea boat ready for interception. It would be no use though, as the first thing he did upon leaving his performance earlier was have one of his men sabotage it. A pillar of smoke shot up from the boat as the guards all began to panic, just as planned.</p><p>"What should we do sir?" one of his crew asked.</p><p>"Shoot at him you idiots. First Mate, is the 'cargo' secure?" he asked as his gang moved to the stern to attack the oncoming Mage.</p><p>"Yes sir!" the pudgy man next to him said.</p><p>"Good. Helmsman, full speed out of here! I'll go deal with that man myself." he said, before walking to join the rest of his crew in firing at the flying Mage.</p><p>Happy dived and weaved through the air, almost having reached the boat. "Happy, I'm gonna hit it, so hold on!" Natsu yelled.</p><p>"Aye Sir!" Happy said, as he watched Natsu put his hands around his mouth, and he felt a wave of heat as a stream of fire shot out of Natsu's mouth at the men shooting various magical attacks at them. They scattered as the back of the boat exploded into pieces of burnt planks, allowing Happy to make an uncontested push to finally catch up to the boat. It had slowed considerably now, as the crew made sure nothing important was hit.</p><p>"All right now drop me! Time to teach these guys what they get for messing with Fairy Tail!" Natsu yelled. Happy swung and launched Natsu toward the crew, both realizing a major flaw in their plan just a moment to late. Natsu landed on the deck, and immediately keeled over sick to his stomach. The crew didn't waste any time, immediately pouncing upon the compromised Dragon Slayer, who was kneeling, stuck between fighting the crew and his stomach. Happy tried to pick Natsu up off the ship, but a trail of purple flames wrapped around Happy and slammed him into the boats deck.</p><p>"I don't think so!" the 'Salamander' said. "I don't know how you two found out about me, but you've seriously underestimated me, Bora the Prominence!" He then whipped the blue cat from his fiery grip up into his hand, examining him. "You're not our usual kind of product, but I'm sure someone would be willing to buy something as unique as you. What are you anyway?"</p><p>"He's my friend, you bastard! Lay another hand on him and I'll - guh!" Natsu grunted as one of the crew members kicked him onto his side, silencing him as he tried to not throw up the twelve-course meal he recently had.</p><p>Meanwhile, Lucy clung to the waist of Lisanna for dear life as she was sped along the oceans surface by the woman's fins below her waist. When Lisanna had suggested that they go help Natsu themselves she thought they would take a boat. But when the guards own boat began to sputter dead before even leaving port, Lisanna just hopped of the dock, and in a flash of light transformed her bottom half into that of a mermaids, before dragging Lucy into the water and launching toward the boat. So, there she was clinging to Lisanna's midriff like her life depended on it. Luckily Natsu bombastic approach had masked the two women's seaside advance. "Really Natsu? He really doesn't think these things through." Lisanna suddenly grumbled.</p><p>"What did he do?" Lucy asked, too blinded by the saltwater splashing into her face to see well.</p><p>"He jumped onto the boat." Lisanna answered flatly.</p><p>"So?"</p><p>"He gets motion sickness."</p><p>"…Oh." Lucy shouldn't have been so surprised. Despite the little time she had known Natsu, this seemed entirely in-character for him. Maybe Lisanna wasn't kidding about him only thinking about friends and food.</p><p>"We need to get this boat back to shore! If I go help Natsu do you think you can turn this thing around?" Lisanna began, trying to formulate a plan.</p><p>"Actually, I might have a way to get it back to shore from here. Just get us to the front of the boat." Lucy said, reaching to her belt for the keys that luckily hadn't removed themselves in the chaos. Lisanna looked back at Lucy, clearly still worried about Natsu. "Trust me, we'll have them back to shore in a moment."</p><p>"…Okay." Lisanna said, before moving to near the bow of the boat. "So, what's the plan?"</p><p>"The plan is to ask for a little help." Lucy said, holding up an intricately designed golden key, before dipping it into the water. "<em><strong>Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!</strong></em>" There was a large surge of magic from beneath the waves, and suddenly an actual mermaid splashed out of the waters. This woman was all blue, from the scales and fins below her waist, her long flowing hair, or the mad eyes that stared at the one who summoned her.</p><p>"What the hell do you think you're doing? You do know I have a date with my boyfriend later tonight. This better be important." Aquarius said, glaring down at the one who was stupid enough to summon her.</p><p>"Aquarius, get this this boat back on the shore, quick!" Lucy ordered.</p><p>"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" Aquarius asked scarily, looking down at her summoner.</p><p>"…Please?" Lucy added, suddenly feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place.</p><p>"My friends in trouble! Please, we need your help!" Lisanna pleaded.</p><p>Aquarius looked over at the woman Lucy was clinging to and noticed similar scales and fins below her waist, and suddenly got a disgusted look on her face. "So, you've decided to replace me, huh? Am I not young enough for you, is that it?" she yelled, raising the urn in her hands dangerously.</p><p>"Seriously, what the hell is going on?!" Lisanna yelled.</p><p>"I should have known that something like this would happen…" Lucy sighed as water shot out of the urn in the spirits hands, and the oceans waves began to shake violently around them.</p><p>On the boat, Bora's crew tried to remain standing as the boat swayed violently back and forth. "Where the yell di this storm come from?!" Bora yelled. "You! Did you do this?!" he shouted at Natsu, who was to busy dealing with his own struggles to hear the accusation. Suddenly the boat lurched, and everyone fell back as the vessel began speeding back the way it came toward port. The force of the giant wave pulling them launched the boat through the planks of the port and into the town itself, along with half the others moored there. It was a mess, but the slavers were very securely landlocked.</p><p>Lisanna and Lucy had washed up as well and were now sitting on the stone street trying to regain their bearings. Lisanna was laying on her stomach, flailing her mermaid half fruitlessly trying to get up. "My legs, I can't feel them!"</p><p>"Lisanna, you're still transformed." Lucy reminded the girl.</p><p>"Oh, right." In a flash of light, her fishy appendages had transformed into proper human legs. Now that Lucy got a good look at them, they looked good, with water droplets glistening off her skin- <em>no Lucy focus</em>! "What just happened?" Lisanna asked unaware of her friend's gaze.</p><p>"I was trying to aim for you two. Not my fault the boat got in the way." Aquarius said all huffy but giving her summoner a knowing look. "Don't summon me for at least a week, I'm going on vacation with my boyfriend, got it?" she demanded before disappearing in a flash of golden light. Both girls looked at where the Celestial Spirit had been, before turning to each other.</p><p>"See, I told you it would be faster." Lucy said proudly.</p><p>"It also nearly took us out with them. Is she normally like that?" Lisanna complained. Lucy looked deep in thought, sitting there in silence thinking for far longer than Lisanna thought she should. "Let just go find Natsu…"</p><hr/><p>Said Dragon Slayer was currently pulling himself out of the beached boat, eventually reaching the front of the bow. The boat was currently wedged up at an angle, having ridden up the side of a single-story building near the center of town. Natsu breathed deeply, staring back down at the rest of the boat, trying to figure out what happened. He looked around to see a crowd gathering below and people watching from the windows around him, the townsfolk all trying to discern the cause of the freak storm that seemed to have swept by. Suddenly a string of flames burst out from underneath the planks of the deck and wrapped itself around him. Still reeling from the high-speed return to shore, he only felt himself growing dizzier as the blazing appendage threw him around and into the buildings surrounding the boat.</p><p>The wielder of the attack eventually climbed out of the interior of the yacht, revealing the purple hair of one very angry Bora. "Damn you! My boat, my crew, my business, you've ruined all of it!" he began to rant, continuing to swing Natsu around like a toddler with a new toy. Eventually he slowed his barrage, stopping to hold the cause of his rage close so they were now face to face. "But if I'm going down, I'm taking you and your two friends with me! What do you have to say to <em>that</em>?"</p><p>Natsu sat still for a moment, before lifting his head to rebuke him.</p><p>"I…I won't let y-BLAAARGH!"</p><p>The torment from before had finally pushed Natsu past his limits, and a dozen courses of street side dining spewed out from Natsu's mouth onto the man in front of him. There were many gasps of horror and disgust from the crowd, and Bora himself dropped Natsu in shock of the side of the boat onto the road a story down. "Damnit, I've had it with you humiliating me! DIE!" he brought both hands up, gathering a giant ball of purple flames into them. The crowd began to scream and scatter, finally realizing the dangers of standing around while two Mage's threw fire at each other.</p><p>Lucy and Lisanna on the other hand, began running in the opposite direct of the fleeing population. "Natsu's got to be this way." Lisanna said.</p><p>"What gave it away, the running crowds?" Lucy asked sarcastically.</p><p>"I was gonna say all the fire, but yeah, that to!" Lisanna laughed.</p><p>"You're awfully calm about this…" Lucy said, disbelief at her new friends' joyous attitude.</p><p>"Oh please, this is nothing. Natsu will probably have this handled by the time we get there." she said dismissively.</p><p>They entered the town square just in time to see a giant fireball fly down from the slanted ship toward Natsu. The Dragon Slayer just held a hand to his head like he was dealing with a terrible headache, paying no heed to the oncoming projectile. The orb of destruction engulfed him, and Lucy was blinded by a great light as the flames exploded out, burning shrubbery and breaking windows with its force. "Natsu!" she yelled out in distress.</p><p>"Whelp looks like it's over now." Happy said floating out from an alley behind the girls, not in the least bit distraught by the seemingly violent end his friend had just met.</p><p>Lucy turned to look at the approaching cat. "How are you so calm!? Natsu is in the center of an <em>inferno</em>!"</p><p>Happy just nodded his head in agreement. "Exactly. This guy basically just defeated himself."</p><p>Lucy looked back to the spreading blaze in concern, only to notice the flames appeared to be moving backwards. She tried to look through the smoke and could see the fire converging around a silhouette standing within. As the fire was collected even more, Lucy could see that the fire wasn't just being gathered by the figure but being <em>eaten</em> by them. After a few moments all that remained of the fire was but a few embers and standing there was Natsu completely unharmed. All his clothes also remained sans his outer coat, which clung to him as nothing more than a few burnt scraps.</p><p>"How?! At that temperature your skin should have melted off your bones!" Bora yelled in disbelief.</p><p>"If it's any consolation, you ruined my only coat. I just bought the thing, asshole." Natsu said annoyed, grabbing it's tattered remains and throwing it off him. Without the blackened article of clothing, a red mark could easily seen below his right shoulder, one that looked like a fairy.</p><p>Bora recoiled in shock. "T-That mark! You're a member of Fairy Tail. You're the real Salamander!"</p><p>Natsu looked up at the imposter in irritation. "That's right, and impersonating a member is a mark against our pride. Prepare yourself, faker! <em><strong>Fire Dragon's Claw!</strong></em>" Fire began to shoot out of his feet, and he leaned back. As he flipped backwards the two streams of fire arced from his soles across the sky and through the boat in front of him. Bora leapt to the side as the deck he was standing upon was cleaved in half. The bottom half of the vessel fell from the building and tipped over, dispensing Bora and his crew across the plaza. Natsu then lit his balled hands on fire and began running towards them. "<em><strong>Fire Dragon's Fist!</strong></em>"</p><p>The two girls and cat stood back watching Natsu throw himself at the enemy like a flaming wrecking ball, knocking them into the buildings surrounding them with each swing. "Told you he could handle it." Lisanna said, staring at her fellow guildmate's brawl with a grin.</p><p>"But…how?" Lucy asked, watching as he grabbed one of Bora's fiery streams and threw the man into one of his own crewmates.</p><p>"He's a Dragon Slayer! A <em>Fire</em> Dragon Slayer!" Happy said in between his bouts of cheering. "Breathing flames, fireproof scales, and blazing limbs. His entire body becomes just like a Dragon. Just like his father Igneel."</p><p>The remaining crew now stood together in a hunched-up state, hoping that their numbers could protect them from the monster currently approaching them. "Now pay attention, this is what it means to be a member of Fairy Tail!" Both of his arms were swathed in flames and he spread them out before swinging them forward. "<em><strong>Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!</strong></em>"</p><p>The two scorching wings swung together into the crew, throwing them up in the air in a spiral of flames, launching embers across the town square. When it was done, all the potential slavers lay defeated across the city. Natsu looked around and saw his friends watching him and began to walk over to them. Lucy couldn't help but stare in awe at Natsu's display of power. She knew that the Mages of Fairy Tail were the best, but this…</p><p>"You're gonna catch flies like that." Lisanna elbowed Lucy out of her stupor, who quickly began to blush.</p><p>"What? No, I was just admiring his, uhhh, fighting technique! Yeah, that." Lucy stammered.</p><p>"Hey guys! I'm guessing you two were the ones who got the boat to shore?" Natsu asked as he reached them, not noticing Lucy's obvious embarrassment.</p><p>"Nope, that was all Lucy. She was really impressive." Lisanna praised. Lucy felt it was rather undeserved, considering Aquarius was the one who did most of the heavy lifting with the boat.</p><p>"Really? Thanks a lot, you really saved me there." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his head.</p><p>Lisanna put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, she did! But she probably wouldn't have had to if you didn't rush off on your own. Weren't you the one who said not to do anything stupid?" She started complaining.</p><p>Natsu looked shocked at his friend's sudden rant, but before he could talk back the sound of rustling armour could be heard coming down the road. The four of them all turned to see the guard captain and his squad, along with the rest of the guards in the city by the looks of it. They were all marching forward at a quick pace, and the captain had an annoyed look on his face. Natsu just waved at the man with a stupid grin on his face. "Oh, hey guys! We got the imposters for you."</p><p>The captain pointed his spear forward at the Mages. "Those are the ones that destroyed the town, arrest them!"</p><p>"Eh?" Natsu waving hand froze at the accusation.</p><p>"We didn't destroy the town!" Lucy yelled.</p><p>
  <em>*SLAM*</em>
</p><p>Everyone jumped, and the three Mages turned to see the front half of the ship had fallen from the roof it was originally beached on, and down on top of the other half. The fire from Natsu's fight quickly began to spread up it, producing a glorious bonfire. "Well, at least with everything soaking wet the fire won't spread?" Lucy said meekly. She didn't need to turn back around to know that her suggestion meant little to the captain. She just stared at the growing flames, wishing that she could have at least joined Fairy Tail before being dragged back to her father in chains. At least she got to hang out with some of their members.</p><p>"Hey Lucy, I think it's time we teach you the most important lesson about doing a job while in Fairy Tail…" Lisanna said.</p><p>"What would that be?" Lucy asked, still staring at the pyre.</p><p>"How to run like hell!" Natsu said.</p><p>They both grabbed one of Lucy's hands and began run away from the armed men behind them. Lucy was snapped out of her pity party, barely keeping herself standing from the sudden speed. She looked between the two, and saw they were both grinning at her. "You did say you wanted to join, didn't you?" Happy said as he flew besides them all.</p><p>Lucy just grinned back at all of them and ran with her new friends towards the freedom she had been searching for.</p><p> </p><p><span class="u">Next Chapter: Welcome to Fairy Tail</span> <span class="u"></span></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Welcome to Fairy Tail</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy finally joins Fairy Tail, and meets the rest of her new family.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Deep in the mountain in the center of the city of Era, ten figures stood in a circle in a darkly lit room. The only source of light being a large blue magic circle underneath them, that blocked them off from the outside world. Here the Top Seats of the Magic Council decided on the most important matters of the Magic World. In truth, not all of them are there. Being busy people, some were elsewhere, using a unique type of thought projection to access the room from across Ishgar.</p><p>The Chairman, a rather large man by the name of Crawford Seam, stroked his beard thoughtfully before speaking. “And now we may finally move onto the final topic of our monthly agenda, Fairy Tail…again.” he sighed, hearing likewise signs of annoyance and exasperation around him.</p><p>Yajima dipped his head sorrowfully. “What did they do this time?”</p><p>A rustling of paper was heard, and everyone gathered turned to look at Org. The tall, elderly man looked down at the notes in front of him before speaking. “According to this, they summoned a tidal wave at the port town of Hargeon, beaching most of the boats, before setting one of them on fire in the center of town!” A few gasps and grumbling could be heard at the news, but a couple of voices could be heard laughing at the news. Org looked over at the two sources of amusement, giving a glare of annoyance. “Is there something you would like to add, Hughes?”</p><p>“Only that you forgot to mention the important part! Seriously Org, I swear you could make a child’s birthday party sound like the end of the world.” a young man with white and purple two-toned hair said amused. He was dressed extremely casually compared to his contemporaries, portraying his youth, or immaturity depending on which of the member you asked.</p><p>“Excuse me?” Org said offended.</p><p>“Quite. The Guild’s anarchist tendencies aside, they seemed to have done so with the best intentions in mind.” said the man next to him, one with a large cleft chin and expertly styled blonde hair. In contrast to the erratic dress choice of his partner, he was dressed professionally, but all in pink, with a flamboyant flair that made him stand out just as much as the member next to him.</p><p>“Sugarboy is correct. According to the report, there was a man imitating one of their members. He was using outlawed charm magic to kidnap woman for the slave trade. Later questioning has revealed the man as Bora, who was recently added to the register of Dark Mages.” a short elderly man said. He had two pairs of white tufts of hair at the top and bottom of his head, mirroring horns and fangs.</p><p>Belno looked over at the last member to speak. “One good act does not negate all the wrong ones. They’re still nothing but troublemakers, Byro.” the middle-aged woman complained.</p><p>“But you can’t deny that they are one of the most effective and powerful Magic Guilds in Fiore.” he responded.</p><p>After much circular debate, the council found themselves at an impasse. “So, we’ve come to the same conclusion we do every time this topic is brought up. We shall leave them be for now, until they become more troublesome than their worth.” The Chairman said.</p><p>Yajima nodded before speaking his mind. “I believe that to be the best option. If it’s any consolation, I can’t see the group getting involved in anything crazier than they already have…”</p><hr/><p>Lucy had a bad feeling in her stomach, and she didn’t know why. Maybe she caught something, or maybe she was developing motion sickness like Natsu. But the most likely reason was because she was standing in front of Fairy Tail’s Guild Building. The pit in her stomach grew, a nagging voice in the back of her head worrying that she might not be accepted despite being literally dragged here by two members of said Guild.</p><p>Natsu strolled up to the great doors of the Guild Hall, before throwing them open more violently than a man of his size seemingly should be able to. As the doors slammed against the walls and everyone turned to look over at them, Natsu bellowed out loudly. “We’re back!”</p><p>Lucy was standing next to Lisanna looking both embarrassed at her new friends’ action, but too much in awe at the sight around her to care. Looking around the Hall she could recognize dozens of members, and it was taking every inch of her willpower from squealing at the site of them and going off on an hour-long rant about each of them. That’s when she noticed <em>the</em> Mirajane approaching them and she unconsciously checked her hair and clothes, not wanting to make a bad first impression with one of her biggest idols.</p><p>“Lisanna, you’re back! Did anything bad happen? Did you get hurt anywhere?” Mira said in a worried tone, throwing her arms around the girl beside Lucy. She looked over in shock at ‘The Demon’ acting like an overprotective mother. This was the hard-assed fiend of Fairy Tail, right?</p><p>“I’m fine sis, <em>as usual</em>.” Lisanna said, clearly annoyed by her fretting. Lucy then finally realized that the two were sisters, and suddenly felt even more self-conscious. One of her current companions was sisters with Mirajane and she never noticed! She thought back to all her interactions with Lisanna, trying to find out if there would be anything her dangerous sister might hurt her for doing. What if she didn’t let her join Fairy Tail?! “Anyways, we actually brought someone back from our job with us, says she wants to join Fairy Tail.”</p><p><em>Huh?</em> Lucy looked at Lisanna in surprise, seeing her smiling back. Lucy didn’t know what the proper course of action for joining the Guild was, so she decided that politeness was the best course of action. Remembering her father’s lessons, she bowed slightly before speaking. “My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I’d be honored if you would let me join the Guild. If you’ll have me, that is.” she said in as calm a voice as she could with everything going around her (which wasn’t that calm at all). No one spoke for a second, and she couldn’t help but doubt if she was good enough to join in the first place.</p><p>Suddenly, a voice called out from above Lucy. “Of course we would!” She looked up to the second floor of the Hall above the bar and saw a woman with scarlet red hair and wearing a suit of armor. Lucy recognized her instantly. “Fairy Tail is not just a guild, it’s a family, and we’d never turn away family.” Erza Belserion continued. “Welcome to Fairy Tail!”</p><p>Lucy looked wide eyed up at the most recent S-Class Mage in Fairy Tail, the Fairy Princess, and back down at Mirajane, who simply nodded in agreement. “Guess I’ll go grab the guild stamp.” she shrugged.</p><p>As they walked over to the bar, Elfman started walking over from one of the tables. “Hey Natsu, did you get that note about that manly rumour I found?” he asked loudly.</p><p>“Yeah! It was a bunch of crap!” Natsu yelled back, before launching himself at the larger man in anger. The two Mage’s fell back onto the table Elfman had arrived from, causing its occupants to jump up and begin fighting as well. This fighting spread across the Hall like a wildfire, and in seconds everyone around the three girls was having a rough and tumble brawl, overturning tables and spilling drinks everywhere. Lucy looked around worried at the chaos around her, but Lisanna just put herself behind her fretting friend and kept pushing her along. Happy also flew ahead and down behind the counter, hiding from the chaos.</p><p>“Don’t worry about this all. They just get like this sometimes-” Mira started, before suddenly transforming her arm into a monstrous form and catching a flying Elfman right before it hit Lisanna. “Hey Natsu! Keep your toys in the play area!” she shouted, before chucking her own brother at the Dragon Slayer who had launched him their way, people and furniture being sent all over at the force of Mira’s demonic pitch. Her arm turned back to normal and she continued her walk towards the bar as if nothing had happened.</p><p>When they reached the bar, there were two women dressed in waitress attire. The black haired one held a stamp in their hand, holding it out for Mira. “Thanks Heine.” she thanked.</p><p>“No problem, Lady Mira.” Heine said politely, before the blonde one next to herself threw herself in front of her partner, demanding attention.</p><p>“Sooooo, Lisanna. Don’t you normally chase off new members? What’s so special about this one?” The blonde one asked unabashed.</p><p>Lisanna glared at the woman’s lack of subtlety. “That’s because most of them are obsessive fangirls who do nothing but hassle Natsu, <em>Juliet</em>. Lucy here is a perfect fit for our Guild.”</p><p>Lucy just stood there, trying her best not to look like the obsessed fangirl of Natsu that she was. Lisanna grabbed the stamp out of her sisters’ hand and turned to Lucy. “Enough wasting time. Guild mark, place and color.” she asked Lucy.</p><p>“Oh, pink please, right here.” Lucy said, holding up the back of her right hand. Lisanna did something with the stamp in her hand, then pressed it against Lucy’s skin. There was a flash and Lucy felt a surge of magic on her hand. Lisanna removed the stamp, and upon turning her hand back Lucy could see a pink mark that looked like a fairy. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as she brought her other hand to touch it, as if to make sure it was real. But in the middle of her inspection, she was covered in a shadow, and when she turned around and looked up at the cause of the darkness she tripped backwards, the bar catching her before she fell on the floor.</p><p>Before her stood a giant in the middle of the Guild Hall, staring down at the roughhousing rabble. Natsu lay squirming under one of its massive feet, swinging his arms in anger. The fighting slowly stopped as they all turned to look fearfully at the hulking figure. The being looked around until it finally locked eyes with Lucy. She couldn’t help releasing a squeak like a mouse that’s been caught in the gaze of a cat. The giant then began to shrink and jumped up to the second floor next to Erza, who had stood there watching the fight with amusement. In a moment, what was once a giant was now a dwarfed old man, looking down at them with an air of judgement. Lucy could recognize him now as the Third Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar.</p><p>“I hear some of you have been causing a lot of trouble lately. I’ve been getting reports from the Council about your behaviour. Do you want to know what I think about that?” he asked dangerously, waving said reports in his hand.</p><p>Lucy looked up in fear, feeling her stomach knot up again like when she entered. She couldn’t believe it; she really was going to get kicked out of the Guild on the first day. At least she got her guild mark for a minute…</p><p>“Who cares!”</p><p><em>Huh? </em>She looked up to see Makarov grinning ear to ear. “Don’t worry about those people! There’s nothing for us to fear, for we’re Fairy Tail!” he shouted, and used Magic to burn the reports in his hand and throwing them at Natsu, who ate them like a treat. Everyone began partying again, turning tables back over and picking up drinks as if they hadn’t been kicking each others’ teeth in a moment ago. Makarov then hopped down onto the bar next to Lucy, turning to greet her. “Happy to have more people joining the Guild. Don’t worry, from what I’ve heard you’ll fit right in.” he said before Juliet handed him a drink, and he walked of to talk to the other members.</p><p>“Thanks… I think?” Lucy said.</p><p>“I hope Natsu wasn’t to troublesome to deal with.” a small voice hidden behind the bar spoke. A young girl with blue hair popped up from behind the counter, and a second later a white cat-like creature just like Happy did as well, along with the blue feline himself.</p><p>“Actually Carla, Lucy was the one who caused most of the damage this time.” Happy said.</p><p>Lucy glared at him. “Excuse me?!”</p><p>“Oh great, more anarchists. I’m beginning to think this Guild attracts nothing but crazy people.” Carla said sarcastically.</p><p>“Don’t be mean Carla! I’m sure Lucy is a great person.” the girl said, before addressing Lucy directly. “Hi, I’m Wendy. Nice to meet you.”</p><p>“Thanks for sticking up for me.” Lucy said. “Why are you behind the counter? You look a bit young to be serving drinks?” she couldn’t help but ask.</p><p>Wendy shrunk behind the counter a bit to hide her embarrassed face. “I don’t like fighting as much as the others, so my sister said I should just hide here when things get weird.”</p><p>“Which is all the time, unfortunately.” Erza said, walking down from the second floor. “If you wanted to join them, I could train with you a bit. Just like old times?”</p><p>“I think I’ll pass.” Wendy said sadly, sinking even farther down so she could not longer be seen.</p><p>Erza looked disappointed but didn’t say anything as she walked over to greet Lucy. “Nice to meet you.” she said holding out a hand.</p><p>Lucy shook the hand excitedly. “T-Thanks. I’ve always wanted to meet the Fairy Princess-Ah!” She suddenly felt her hand under a harder grip than before.</p><p>Erza let go and pulled her hand away quickly. “I’m so sorry! I’m just not a fan of that nickname.” she said looking down ashamed.</p><p>“Here, give me our hand.” Wendy said from behind the bar, her arms reaching up like the tentacles of a deep-sea creature. Lucy put the hand with her guild mark near them and Wendy’s hands enveloped hers with a blue light. In a moment, Lucy felt all better.</p><p>“You can use Healing Magic? I didn’t even know that was a thing!” Lucy said amazed, taking her hand back and looking it over in amazement.</p><p>Wendy arms retreated into the depths of the bar. “It’s because I’m a Sky Dragon Slayer. It’s impossible for anyone else apparently.”</p><p>“Wow… Wait a moment, Dragon Slayer? You mean like Natsu?” Lucy questioned.</p><p>“Yes. Their situations are… similar.” Erza said, with a pointed look towards Lucy that made it clear not to ask anymore about it.</p><p>Lucy sat there for a moment before remembering something important. “Oh, would any of you know a good place to rent around here? I did just kinda get into town after all.” she said embarrassed.</p><p>“There’s always Fairy Hill. It’s the official dormitory for female Fairy Tail members.” Erza said.</p><p>“You guys have that? Cool! What’s the rent?” Lucy asked excited.</p><p>“100,000 Jewels!”</p><p>Lucy’s face morphed from excitement to horror. “Do you perhaps… know of any cheaper options?”</p><p>“Not off the top of my head.” Erza said unfortunately.</p><p>Lucy sniffed. “Oh well, I guess I’ll get looking, I-ah, ah, ACHOO!” She suddenly sneezed violently. Luckily, she turned away in time and sneezed harmlessly into the empty air.</p><p>“Are you Ok?” Mira asked worried, handing her a tissue.</p><p>As Lucy used the tissue she put a hand to her stomach, feeling the same sensation she had earlier upon entering and encountering the Master. “I thought I was just nervous about joining, but I guess it’s more than butterflies in my stomach, huh. Can you make me better Wendy?”</p><p>Wendy finally stood up from behind the bar, still barely uncovering herself though. “Sorry, my magic is more for physical injuries. If your disease was magical it might help, but all I can do for a normal flu is help regulate temperature and make you less dizzy.”</p><p>Happy leaned over to Lucy and sniffed. “You smell… like a fish!” He declared.</p><p>Lucy suddenly felt very self-conscious about not having showered since her earlier adventure. “We were a bit busy running from the authorities to freshen up! But I guess going for a swim like that wasn’t great for my health…” She said.</p><p>“You should go see Porlyusica.” Mira suggested. “You should go get a checkup as well Lisanna, it’s been a while since your last-”</p><p>“All right, all right.” Lisanna interrupted.</p><p>Lucy looked between the sisters confused. “Who’s Porlyusica?”</p><p>“She’s the Guild’s resident nurse and medical advisor. I don’t know if she’s an actual member, but her and the Master go way back apparently. She doesn’t use any Magic, so she’s great at concoctions and stuff. She’s a real master in the field of medicine.” Erza said. “Wendy, do you want to take the two of them to her place? Maybe you could learn a thing or two from her as well.”</p><p>Wendy’s eyes went wide with fear at the suggestion, like she was a dog who just learned they were going to the vet. “NO! I mean I’m fine, thanks. I’ll just go home for today, see you all later.” she said as she hopped out from behind the bar and suddenly ran off in a sprint.</p><p>Carla just sighed before flying of after her. “Worth a shot…”</p><p>Erza just looked at her sister running off sadly, before turning to Lucy. “I guess I’ll show you the way there.”</p><hr/><p>After Erza walked ahead of Lucy and Lisanna, leading them through the dirt path of Magnolia’s East Forest for a while, the blonde’s curiosity got the better of her. Lucy turned to Erza and said the question she’d been trying not to ask since they started their trek. “So, why is Wendy so scared of this lady. You said she doesn’t use Magic, right. Is she some old hag who uses some dangerous backwards techniques?!” she suddenly started worrying.</p><p>“What? No, Porlyusica is a great doctor. Why would you think that?” Lisanna asked confused at the sudden spike of fear.</p><p>“It’s just that when the girl known for healing magic is scared of a <em>doctor</em> of all things, I tend to think there might be something worth worrying about.” Lucy said.</p><p>“I see how that could come across as worrying, but I assure you that Wendy’s issues are unrelated to Porlyusica’s abilities.” Erza assured her new guildmate.</p><p>Lucy looked perplexed by the statement. “Then why is Wendy so scared of her?”</p><p>“… I don’t think she’s scared of her.” Erza muttered.</p><p>“What was that?” Lucy asked.</p><p>Erza looked conflicted about sharing more, but eventually gave in. “You know how my mother has been missing for a while now?” she asked Lucy.</p><p>“Um, yeah?” she responded, surprised by how personal this suddenly got.</p><p>“Before she disappeared, Wendy and Porlyusica were inseparable. My sister was always running off here to learn something new from Porlyusica. But after Mom left, Wendy seemed afraid to get anywhere near her.” Erza let out another sigh. “It’s not just her either. Wendy used to want to learn how to fight, and me and Natsu were more than happy to help. But now she doesn’t do any training with others at all. She says that she’s training by herself, but there’s only so much a girl her age can learn on her own.”</p><p>Lucy looked over at Lisanna, who nodded to confirm what had been said. “Is there… anything I can do to help?” she asked hesitantly, not wanting to overstep her bounds.</p><p>“I’ve tried everything, but if you think you can help, be my guest.” Erza said in a defeated tone. “Looks like we’re here.”</p><p>The girls looked forward to see the path had opened up into a clearing. In the center of it was a large tree, which Lucy noticed had window’s and doors like a house. She turned to look at the other two in surprise. “She lives in a tree?” They just shrugged, so she walked over to the wooden door, knocking on it. “I’m so glad this Porlyusica is a nice person though. I was worried she’d be all mean and scary!”</p><p>Erza and Lisanna looked surprised by her statement and looked at each other weirdly before turning back to her. “We’re sorry we gave you that impression…” Erza said, trailing off as she looked away guiltily.</p><p>“What sort of trouble have you gotten yourselves into now?” an aged and cranky voice said from behind the door. It creaked open, revealing an elderly woman with pink hair. Despite her apparent age, she stood taller than the girls who had come to visit her, looking down at them with a stern gaze.</p><p>“Uh, Hi?” Lucy waved.</p><p>Lucy’s checkup only took ten minutes, but it was an agonizing ten minutes. Not because Porlyusica’s techniques were bad, but because she wouldn’t stop nagging her patient throughout it.</p><p>“Do you usually go for swims with all your clothes on?”</p><p>“You didn’t even shower afterward; I can smell the salt on you from here!”</p><p>“Not even in the Guild for a day and you already need my help? This is why I hate humans…”</p><p>When Lucy’s checkup finished, she walked out of the literal treehouse with a pouch of medicine and a mountain of shame. Lisanna walked past her into Porlyusica’s house, and Erza walked over and put her on her friends’ shoulder. “At least your feeling better. Physically, at least.” Barely a minute passed before Lisanna exited, looking down at the ground in thought. She quickly turned to Lucy and asked how she felt.</p><p>“She said that I shouldn’t do anything stressful for a couple days, so I can’t take any jobs. But once I feel better, she says I’m all clear.” Lucy tried to say cheerfully, looking at the bright side.</p><p>“You still need to find a place, right? You can stay with me and my siblings till you find one.” Lisanna suggested.</p><p>Lucy looked surprised at the offer. “What? I’m fine, I don’t want to impose-”</p><p>“Please! It’s my fault you got sick in the first place, let me help you out. I can’t ask you to look for a place to live in your condition.” Lisanna insisted.</p><p>Lucy looked at Lisanna and saw the guilt all over her face. “Okay.” She agreed. “And Lisanna…”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Lucy made sure that Lisanna was looking her in the eyes, so that her point would be clearly made. “You helped get me into Fairy Tail, and that means more to me than anything in the world. A little cold means nothing in the long run. So… thanks.” she said, feeling embarrassed at being so honest about her feelings.</p><p>Lisanna looked surprised at the thanks and put her arms behind her back and looked away with tinted cheeks. “D-Don’t mention it. Being a family to other guildmates is just common courtesy.”</p><p>The two girls stood there awkwardly for a few moments, before Erza coughed. “Well, since that’s all worked out, I guess I’ll go check on Wendy. See you when you’re better Lucy!” she waved, before shuffling off.</p><p>Lisanna looked around awkwardly a bit more before finally talking again. “Why don’t I show you the way back.”</p><hr/><p>Lisanna led Lucy back into Magnolia, and eventually to a townhouse on the main road. “We can’t live at Fairy Hills since Elfman’s a <em>man</em>, as he will so often remind you, so we got this place of our own. We have a spare bed in my room, so none of us will have to sleep on the couch or anything.” As they opened the door, they found Mira sitting in the living room already. “Huh? What are you doing here Mira?” she asked confused.</p><p>Mira gave her sister a smirk. “I figured something like this would happen, so I decided to make sure to properly prepare for our guest. Elfman’s here too!”</p><p>“Sis, the bath is now ready!” a voice said, approaching from upstairs. Elfman walked down and was surprised to see Lucy had arrived. “Oh, you’re here? Mira was spot on with the timing.”</p><p>“You prepared a bath for me?” Lucy said surprised, looking between the two older siblings.</p><p>“Of course! Helping a woman in need is one of the <em>Manliest</em> things one can do.” Elfman boasted.</p><p>“I overheard Happy, and decided you’d appreciate no longer smelling like the harbor.” Mira said as well.</p><p>Lucy sniffed at her clothes and realized that she had been tuning out the smell for a while now. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer, thanks.”</p><p>As Lucy walked up to the bath, Lisanna turned to Mira. “Where’s Natsu. I’m surprised he didn’t run off after me when we left.” she asked.</p><p>Mira laughed at the thought. “Macao went on some job a while ago and his kid was whining about him taking to long, so Natsu decided to run off and go find him.” She then leaned in after hearing the bathroom door upstairs close. “So, what’s up with the new girl.”</p><p>“I already told you, I’m just being nice to her. It’s my fault she needed help in the first place. Is it not important to show the new members the ropes?” Lisanna huffed.</p><p>Mira smiled slyly. “I’m sure you’ll give her all the ropes tonight-”</p><p>“Alright, that’s enough. Elfman, come help me make dinner.” Lisanna interrupted, walking toward the kitchen.</p><p>“You know, if you wanted, I can go ask Levy about making some soundproof runes…” Her oldest sibling continued teasing.</p><p>“I can’t here you, I’m in the kitchen!” Lisanna shouted down the hall.</p><p>Elfman looked between the two in confusion. “… What are you two talking about?”</p><p>“Get your butt into the kitchen Elfman!” her younger sister demanded.</p><p>“Eep!”</p><hr/><p>Lucy lay in the spare bed of Lisanna’s bedroom, lying in pure bliss. After a bath, home cooked meal, and sleeping in a comfy bed, she felt like she had ascended to another level of existence. She knew it was now morning, as she could feel the sunlight shining against her closed eye’s, but she refused to leave the comfort of her sheets. She was sick, right? No one would judge her for sleeping in.</p><p>The light was suddenly ceased though, it’s warming rays blocked from her. Refusing to see what had interrupted her respite, she brought an arm out from under the bedding and began to wave it in front of her, hoping to remove the disturbance.</p><p>
  <em>*smack*</em>
</p><p>The noise of flesh hitting her palm reached her ears. That wasn’t the sound she expected. Had Lisanna come over to wake her up, and she just slapped her?! She immediately opened her eyes and got up to apologize. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you Lisanna, but I didn’t think you were… up?”</p><p>Rubbing the sleep out of her eye’s, Lucy’s sight adjusted to the light to see that Lisanna was still in her bed. She turned her gaze over to her outstretched hand to see it resting on the cheek of one Natsu Dragneel. “Good morning.”</p><p>“AAAAAAAAHHH!!!” Lucy shoved the invader away while pulling the sheets up, hiding her body. She could also see Happy sitting on her bed. “Lisanna, a little help!”</p><p>“Huh, what happened…” Lisanna mumbled as she woke up. She rubbed her eyes and saw Natsu splayed out on the bedroom floor from Lucy’s shove, and Happy sitting on the edge of the bed, laughing at his friend’s surprise. “Oh, it’s just you two.” she said, laying back down and rolling over.</p><p>“What?!” Lucy said surprised. “These two broke into your bedroom!”</p><p>“Yeah, they do that sometimes. Don’t worry about it.” Lisanna said dismissively.</p><p>Lucy looked over at Natsu horrified. “…Why?”</p><p>“Because sometimes she takes forever to wake up. I’m usually able to get up, pick a mission, and pack everyone’s stuff before she even wakes up.” he complained, crossing his arms as he shot Lisanna a look.</p><p>“It’s really handy. He packs all my clothes and everything for me.” Lisanna said. “I hate to tell you, but Lucy can’t go on any missions, she’s sick. Besides, I was going to help her find a place to rent.”</p><p>“I know, that’s why I’ve brought <em>this</em>.” Natsu said, holding up a newspaper in his hand. “I asked Macao about it after I saved him from those Vulcans yesterday, and he said you can find places to live in these things. So, I grabbed this morning’s issue and ran right over!”</p><p>“After I reminded him!” Happy said, getting an unimpressed look from Natsu.</p><p>“Oh. Thanks, Natsu.” Lucy said, taking the papers. She was surprised by the Dragon Slayers thoughtfulness. He knew his senses were good, but to hear about her needing a place to live and that she was sick while he was fighting on the other side of the building? She felt touched that he was still paying attention to her even after joining the guild.</p><p>Lisanna’s sigh could be heard on the other side of the room. “I guess that means we should get up now. Natsu, get out.”</p><p>Natsu tilted his head. “Why?”</p><p>Lisanna just shook her head. “… Just go wait downstairs or something.”</p><p>Natsu got up, annoyed at being told to leave. “Fine then. I’m gonna go to Elfman’s room, see if he can make something for breakfast. I’m sure I’ll be much more appreciated there.” He said as he walked out the room, Happy floating behind him, and closing the door behind him.</p><p>There was silence in the house, except for the sound of Natsu stomping down the hall, and Lucy looked over concerned. “Should we…?” but Lisanna just shushed her.</p><p>Then the sound of a door being slammed open echoed out followed by Natsu’s voice, muffled by the distance. Elfman’s annoyed response, however, was clearly heard through the walls. “Barging into other people’s rooms is <strong><em>UNMANLY</em></strong>!” followed by a loud crash.</p><p>“Hahaha!” The two girls began laughing at their friend’s buffoonery and misfortune, before getting out bed to change. Lucy looked over at the paper Natsu had dropped off and flipped it to the Classified section. Despite a rocky start, things seemed to be looking good now. Lucy couldn’t wait to start taking jobs as a Mage of Fairy Tail.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Chapter: Enter the Everlue Estate</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Enter the Everlue Estate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy goes on her first mission as a Mage of Fairy Tail with Lisanna (and Happy).</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucy got up out of the guest bed she had stayed in for the past three days and stretched. She glanced around the room while spreading her arms, to see if there was anyone else in the room. Lisanna’s bed was empty, having gotten up earlier without her noticing, and luckily Natsu hadn’t invaded for a third time. Looks like he took that threat of her summoning Cancer and making him bald seriously. As she got changed, she thought about what she had done over the past two days. After spending some time looking for available places to live, she spent the rest of her time taking it easy at the Guild Hall, as Porlyusica had ordered. That gave her plenty of time to meet all her new guildmates.</p><p>First was the Ice-Make Family. Ur, Grey, Lyon, and Ultear. While they didn’t all hang out together, they were easily recognizable as related through two features. One, they all used variations of Ice-Make Magic. Two, they were constantly stripping.</p><p>Lucy’s first meeting of them was getting a shirt thrown into her face by Grey without him even noticing it was gone. Lisanna said it was a habit due to their method of training, which Lucy found rather hard to believe, but she supposed it wasn’t the craziest thing in the Guild. Not to mention she didn’t mind the eye candy sometimes. Ultear seemed to be close with Erza and Mira, but there seemed to be an underlying tension related to not being S-Class yet.</p><p>There was also Jellal’s group. While the “Rising Star” of Fairy Tail wasn’t around currently, she managed to meet some of the members that hung out with him. First was Milianna, a cat-obsessed girl who spent most of her time at the guild hunting down Happy and Carla. Then there was Sho, a young man who used card magic and liked to make a game of everything. Wally was a ‘dandy’ man, by his own words, and Lucy would be inclined to believe him. Despite his oddly polygonal appearance, that didn’t stop him from dressing and acting rather fine. He apparently had an older brother in another guild. Finally, there was Simon and his little sister Kagura. The two were very close to Erza and seemed to know each other for a long time. Kagura didn’t know much magic, so Erza gave her weapon fighting lessons, which made Simon nervous, and Lucy imagined she would be too if she had a little sister playing around with swords.</p><p>Lucy had gotten the most familiar with Levy of Team Shadow Gear. She honestly seemed to be one of the most normal people and the guild, and they both had a similar hobby in writing. The two of them spent most of yesterday evening comparing their works, and she couldn’t help but be thankful for finding a kindred spirit.</p><p>There were plenty of other members that she had met, however. There was Macao and his kid, Romeo, that Natsu had talked about earlier. Cana was intriguing, as she was the child of the legendary Gildarts. Or at least she said she was. Not that she didn’t believe her, but information related to Fairy Tail’s strongest Mage was so elusive that even a superfan like her didn’t know he had a kid.</p><p>Lucy walked down into the kitchen and found everyone had left already. She hoped she hadn’t slept in too long, as she was feeling better now, and didn’t want to have to go on her first mission alone. As she grabbed her breakfast, the sound of the front door opening reached her ears, and Lisanna ran into the kitchen.</p><p>“Lucy, your up already? Perfect!” Lisanna said excited. “You feel up to a mission yet?”</p><p>Lucy put a hand to her stomach, trying to feel any disturbance. “I’m all good. Honestly, I was worried I’d have to go out alone today. Need to start working on that rent soon.” Luckily, she had managed to find a place for the not so low price of 70,000 Jewels a month. But it was better than Fairy Hills, so now she just needed to get working.</p><p>“Of course not! In fact, I’ve already picked out a job for us to do. Ta-da!” Lisanna said, holding up a job contract. Lucy leaned in and looked at the details.</p><p>
  <em>-Job: Steal a Certain Book-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Reward: 200,000 Jewels-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-Location: Shirotume Town-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>-See Kaby Melon at the address below for details-</em>
</p><p>“That much for a single book? Seems rather high. And thievery? Is that allowed?” Lucy asked skeptically. </p><p>“Aren’t you the one who told me that writing was an unappreciated art? Besides, it might be in some cursed crypt or something. It’s not like we’re going to rob a public library. We don’t have to do it if it seems illegal.” Lisanna reassured her friend.</p><p>“… Alright. Let’s go find Natsu and-”</p><p>“Actually, I was thinking maybe it could be just the two of us?” Lisanna interrupted. Lucy looked confused, and she continued. “It’s just… this mission will probably require subtlety, which isn’t really his strong suit. Don’t want to mess up your first mission and all.”</p><p>“I guess…” Lucy felt kinda bad not telling Natsu, but she needed that money. Besides, she was sure she’d go on plenty of missions with him in the future. The guy could barely leave her alone if she was honest.</p><hr/><p>The two soon found their way onto a train heading to Shirotume town, but as the train was pulling away from the station, they heard someone yelling outside the window of their car. Lucy opened the window and looked out to see someone flying after them. “Get back here!” Natsu yelled, as Happy carried him forward.</p><p>Lisanna poked her head out next to Lucy. “Don’t worry Natsu, we’ll be back in no time!” she said nonchalantly, waving at him.</p><p>The train began to speed up, and Natsu couldn’t catch up. “Damn, I’m dead weight. Happy, drop me!” He yelled.</p><p>“Aye Sir!” Happy said. He released Natsu, how landed on the ground in a roll, before he rocketed toward the train. Quickly picking up speed, Happy launched himself into Lisanna’s arms, who flew back into the train. Lucy looked back to see Natsu disappear in the distance, becoming nothing more than a pink dot on the horizon.</p><p>“Oof!” Lisanna landed back in her coach seat and started rubbing the blue felines belly. “Jeez, you’ve sure gotten faster, haven’t you? You’re gonna end up knocking someone out like that eventually.”</p><p>“hehehe! No, that tickles!” Happy squealed, wriggling in the Take Over Mage’s arms.</p><p>“Not until you tell me who snitched!” Lisanna said, increasing her assault.</p><p>“Haha, ah! I-It was Elfman! He t-thought we were going with you!” Happy managed to get out through fits of laughter.</p><p>“Elfman… I’ll get you back for this.” Lisanna lifted her hands from Happy. “I suppose you get to live for now.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Happy said, rolling up into her lap, still out of breath.</p><p>“Is it that big a deal?” Lucy asked.</p><p>Lisanna sighed before petting Happy, who started making a purring sound. “I wanted it to be just the two of us. Natsu can be a bit… insistent on tagging along with me. It’s sweet, but having him around on jobs all the time can be tiring.”</p><p>Lucy thought back to her first encounter with the two. She had thought that the chaos that was their meeting was an exception, but her short time at the Guild Hall told her it was the norm. “I can see that. It’ll be nice to go on a job without setting everything on fire, huh?”</p><hr/><p>After reaching their destination of Shirotsume Town they met up with the client, Kaby Melon, who gave them more details on the job. Thus, the two women found themselves hiding out beside a rather large mansion, scouting the estate out.</p><p>“What do you think about this job?”</p><p>Lisanna continued looking up and down the manors walls, pondering at the question. “The place is pretty secure, so we might be better getting invited in instead of sneaking. But this doesn’t seem impossible-”</p><p>“I meant in general.” Lucy clarified, making Lisanna look over in confusion. “I mean, the price was already rather ridiculous for destroying a book, but 2 million Jewels! I don’t care how rich the guy looked, there’s no way this is legit. Why doesn’t he just buy it if he’s that loaded. Do you think we should still do it?”</p><p>Lisanna looked deep in thought, before shrugging. “Like I said, the job shouldn’t be too hard. If he doesn’t pay, we can always complain to the Magic Council. Its law that if we complete the job, we get the money… as long as we don’t cause to much property damage.”</p><p>“So basically never…” Happy said sadly, flying down from above the girls.</p><p>“Why do you think we left Natsu. Can’t have him ruining a score like this. Well Happy, did you find anything we can use.” Lisanna laughed.</p><p>“Maybe, none of the windows are open, but there are plenty of balconies to get onto. Couldn’t see where the library is though.”</p><p>“Then looks like we’ll have to find a proper way in like you said. But how?” Lucy asked.</p><p>“I told you, the Duke isn’t interested!” A deep but feminine voice cried out. The Fairy Tail members looked toward the voice to see a pink haired giantess of a maid throwing two other maids out the front gate.</p><p>“But we’re professionally trained and everything! You’re the one’s asking for help, aren’t you?” One of them complained.</p><p>“We’re looking for a very specific set of talents, and you don’t have them.” The larger maid said, before turning back and closing the gate behind her. The two now jobless maids walked off, grumbling at their misfortune.</p><p>“Well, I guess we have a way in now.” Lisanna said.</p><p>“You’ve got to be kidding me. Where are we supposed to get a maid outfit anyway?” Lucy said unpleased.</p><p>“Those two won’t need them. Besides, all we need to do is get in for a while. Not like it’ll be a permanent job.” Lisanna said.</p><hr/><p>“This is never going to work.”</p><p>“Give it a chance! At least I remembered to cover our guild marks.”</p><p>“Fine… Jeez, this top part is way to tight.”</p><p>The two girls stood outside the gate of the vast Everlue Estate in their newly acquired maid outfits, waiting to be let in. They had pushed some sort of button, so someone should be coming by soon. Happy was off to the side in a nearby tree, keeping watch.</p><p>Suddenly the ground between the two of them cracked and the giant maid from before burst out, leaving behind a hole in the bricked street. “Hmm, are you two here for the job offer?” She asked deeply.</p><p>“Y-yeah?” Lucy replied weekly.</p><p>The maid glanced between the two of them, before turning back toward the tunnel she emerged from and shouting down it. “Master, there’s two girls who came for the maid position!”</p><p>Everything was quiet for a moment, before the ground bulged once again, and another figure flew out from the earth. Upon landing, the figure revealed itself to be a short, fat man. “Hoho, is that so? I sure hope that these ones are better than the last.” The Duke said, looking between the two girls. “hmm…”</p><p>Lucy couldn’t help but sweat at the intense scrutiny. <em>‘Sheesh, is this guy is seriously checking us out? Maybe we’ll actually get in like this-’</em></p><p>“Rejected!! Go home you two.”</p><p>“WHAT?!” Lucy couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. “But why? You didn’t even give us a chance.”</p><p>“It’s rather simple, for someone as great as I am, I deserve only the most beautiful of maids…” At the mention, many other maids shot out of the ground, revealing a rather large… difference in appearance compared to the Fairy Tail Mages. “…and you two are <em>ugly</em>.” He finished</p><p>“Ug-” Lucy couldn’t believe this was happening.</p><p>“That’s it then, time for you to leave, uglies.” The giant maid said, picking up Lucy and Lisanna by the back with each hand, and tossing them away from the estate.</p><p> “AHH?!” Lucy screamed out as they landed near the tree Happy had been perched in down the road. As Happy flew down to check on them, she looked back to see that the Duke and his servants had disappeared, likely down the holes from which they emerged. She got up and turned back to her friend in annoyance. “Jeez, that man clearly has no taste, right Lisanna?”</p><p>Lisanna, however, was still sitting where they had landing with a blank look on her face, Lucy’s question having obviously gone unnoticed.</p><p>“…”</p><p>“Hey, Lisanna!”</p><p>She suddenly snapped out of her trance. Looking up suddenly. “uh?! Wha-”</p><p>“Don’t let what that buffoon said get to you. He clearly has a demented idea of what the word <em>‘beauty’</em> means.”</p><p>“…You’re right. It’s not worth getting bent out of shape over.” Lisanna agreed, with a forceful cheer in her voice. As she got up though, Lucy could here her muttering something under her breath. “…<em>Silly, there’s no way he’d kno</em>w…”</p><p>“What was that?”</p><p>“Oh, nothing! Guess we’ll have to find another way in though. Looks like we’re going to be doing things the hard way.”</p><p>Happy landed on the road dispelling his wings. “Aye sir! The best jobs always involve busting heads!” he cheered. “But how come you two didn’t even make it through the front gate? You guys look perfect for it.”</p><p>“Not for this guy. His standards are a bit… different than usual.” Lucy sighed. “I still can’t believe he called the two of us ugly…”</p><p>“HE WHAT?!” Happy yelled in anger. He turned toward the front gates and began stomping towards them as angrily as a feline of his size could muster. “I’m gonna go teach that guy a lesson!”</p><p>“Wait, Happy!” Lisanna said quickly. “Don’t worry about it, really.”</p><p>“But he-”</p><p>“It’s fine, lets focus on the mission. Please.”</p><p>Lucy stood to the side awkwardly, not sure what to make of recent events. It’s not like she was surprised that Lisanna was upset by the Duke’s comment. Any woman would at being dismissed so easily and for such a ridicules reason. But for her to take it like that was weird. And that’s not even taking Happy’s reaction into account. Now that Lucy thought about it though, her sister Mira was basically a supermodel, what with all the shoots she does for Sorcerer Magazine and other groups. <em>‘I guess it wouldn’t be out of the question to develop a complex about it…’</em></p><p>But Lisanna was right, they had more important things to worry about right now. “Right, so it looks like we’re going to have to force our way in. What’s our point of entry? Happy could fly us up to one of the balconies.”</p><p>“I can only take one of you at a time. But Lisanna can fly up herself!” Happy said.</p><p>“Actually, I have a better idea.” Lisanna said, looking back at the front gate. Her hands glowed and transformed into a unique set of paws. “<strong><em>Animal Soul: Mole</em></strong>. It looks like they didn’t bother to clean up the holes they made. Since they go to the mansion, it would be silly not to use them.”</p><p>“I don’t think I could get through those holes as easily though.” Lucy said, glancing at the row of pits a way off.</p><p>“Then let’s split up. We can cover more ground that way and won’t have to worry about failing if we get caught.”</p><p>Lucy really didn’t like the idea of splitting up, but she couldn’t argue with the facts. “Alright. Good luck then. Let’s go Happy.”</p><p>“Aye Sir!”</p><p>And with that Happy jumped onto Lucy’s back, spread his wings, and the two flew up and off toward the Everlue Estate. Lisanna stood alone watching the two fly off, trying to steady her breathing as she slowly walked toward the tunnels in front of her.</p><p><em>‘I can do this. I can do this, without Natsu or Mirajane to baby me. I’m not ugly, and I’m not useless. </em> <em>I’m all better now, I’ll show them.’</em></p><hr/><p>“Alright, here looks good. Set me down.”</p><p>“Aye!”</p><p>Lucy and Happy both landed on one of the many balconies of the expansive estate. Lucy glanced in the large window door to make sure that no one was there. “All clear. Now to get in quietly.”</p><p>“And how do we do that?”</p><p>Lucy checked the door handle, and seeing it locked, reached to the keychain her waist and pulled up one of her golden keys. <strong>“Open, Gate of the Crab, Cancer!”</strong></p><p>In a flash of golden light, a celestial spirit appeared before the two of them. The spirit looked like a casually dressed man and could be mistaken for one if not for the six crab-like legs sticking out of his back. “Lady Lucy, what sort of hairstyle do you need today-Ebi?” Cancer asked, while striking a pose and snipping the two scissors in his hands.</p><p>“-Ebi? Shouldn’t it be -Kani?” Happy asked confused.</p><p>Lucy shook her head and pointed to the glass behind her. “You’re not here to give a haircut today. Think you can cut a hole in this window without making a sound?”</p><p>“Hmph, of course-Ebi.” He responded, looking the window up and down. Then in a flash and a flurry of limbs, Cancer cut a perfect square in the window. He then put one of his scissors near the top, and plied the cut segment from the pane, gently setting it aside. “Another job complete. Good luck-Ebi.” And with that the crab-spirit disappeared just as easily he had appeared.</p><p>“Alright, quiet now.” Lucy whispered as the two of them finally walked into the interior of the mansion in search of their goal.</p><p>
  <em>*crash*</em>
</p><p>“Ahh!” Lucy turned around at the sudden noise to see Happy rustling through one of the boxes in the storage room. “What are you doing?!”</p><p>Happy raised his head from the box, having somehow gotten a skull mask over his head in his exploration. “…Looking for the book?”</p><p>“It won’t be here. It’s probably in his library or a personal collection. Now stop making so much noise.” Lucy said.</p><p>Lucy opened the door into the hall and glanced around. The door led out into the second floor of the main hall, looping around the first floor. The two slowly walked out of the storage room and toward the next door down the hall. She peeked in and could barely contain the gasp that came up her mouth.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” The skull faced Happy asked worried, noticing her reaction.</p><p>Ignoring Happy, she quickly glanced around the hall then back in the door, before opening it more and ushering him in.</p><p>When they entered Happy looked around and realized why Lucy reacted how she did. “A library!”</p><p>“I could barely believe it myself.” Lucy said excited. “Now get looking, it’s gotta be in here… somewhere.”</p><p>The two of them glanced around at the room, wall to wall with shelves full of books.</p><p>“I wonder if Lisanna is doing any better than us…”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>‘I hope Lucy and Happy are doing better than I am…’</em>
</p><p>Lisanna snuck around the depths of the Everlue Estate, looking for <em>anything</em> that could help her find the book they were after. She assumed that this ‘Daybreak’ was worth a lot, if the job reward was anything to go by, so she was looking for a safe or display. But it was clear there was nothing down here other than rats. There was nothing else, including the maids. Which was weird, considering she entered the same way they did.</p><p>
  <em>‘This isn’t working. Guess I’ll have to risk going higher up. But that would mean a higher chance of getting caught.’</em>
</p><p>She was lucky so far, but if she went up to the manor proper, she doubted it would keep up. If she went up there, she would probably have to use her Animal Soul Magic in its entirety to remain undetected.</p><p>
  <em>‘But if I do that then she’ll see me! I have to find another way through.’</em>
</p><p>She’ll just have to take her chances. She can’t fail now, not after getting this far.</p><p>“I can do this. I’ll get it, burn it to bits, and feed the embers to Natsu! Look out Daybreak, I’ll tear this whole place down if I have to!”</p><p>“Hoho? So that’s what you all are after.”</p><p>Lisanna looked around in shock, recognizing the voice as Duke Everlue. <em>‘Where the hell is he?’</em></p><p>The sound of stone crumbling met her ears and she turned to the noise to find the Duke… swimming backstroke through the brick floor? “I knew those mages from earlier were more than just your average bandits, but to think they were after something as worthless as that trash.”</p><p>Lisanna glared at the man’s cavalier attitude. “If it’s so worthless, then maybe you could save everyone some time and just hand it over?”</p><p>“Never. It belongs to me, so trying to steal from me is worth a punishment, no matter it’s worth. The principle of it, you see.”</p><p><em>‘Worth a shot’</em> Lisanna scoffed. “What’s so important about the thing anyways?”</p><p>“It’s the last book ever written by the great Kemu Zaleon, with yours truly as the main character. It’s a total piece of crap though! To think a man of his talent would write something like it is insulting.” He ranted. “I don’t know why anyone would want it so much as to hire others to steal it, but your going to tell me who, and then I’ll make their life a living hell!”</p><p>With a snap of his fingers a half dozen maids flew out of the ground, including the giant one with the pink hair, ready for a fight. “We will not allow you to harass our master any further. Attack!”</p><p>Lisanna immediately began digging through the ground at incredible speed thanks to her Animal Soul: Mole, putting distance from the group and trying to split them up. She popped out elsewhere, only to find the large one right on her tail.</p><p>“You’ll have to try harder than that!”</p><p>At least she was proving an effective distraction. She really hoped Lucy was having better luck than she was.</p><hr/><p>“I found it!”</p><p>Happy flew over to Lucy from the other side of the library, holding a book with a golden yellow book cover wrapping it. He looked like a flying skull with the mask still on and his body covered by the book. The words Daybreak could be seen along the top in bold letters, with the writer’s name along the bottom.</p><p>“Kemu Zaleon?!” Lucy said in shock at seeing the author of the book they were searching for.</p><p>“Oh! Do you know the book Lucy?”</p><p>“Kemu Zaleon was a famous writer and mage, and he’s written plenty of books. I’ve read every single one, but I’ve never heard of this book before.” Lucy wouldn’t be surprised if the man had a couple drafts from his years of working, but an entire book? And how did the client even learn about it? “Maybe it’s a fake or something. Let me look at it.”</p><p>Lucy reached into her back pocket and pulled out her pair of Gale-Force Reading Glasses. She began looking through the book at a truly lightning speed, her eyes flicking between the pages so fast you could barely tell they were moving. She could immediately tell that there was something wrong with this book. Beyond the surface level of its obvious self-indulgent story, there were grammar and spelling issues throughout the whole thing. There was no way the great Zaleon could have wrote this, there were so many problems with this book she almost believed they were on purpose! Wait a minute…</p><p>She tried looking another way than with her eyes. The way her old teacher had. Closing her eyes, she reached out and felt something else. Something magical. “That’s it.”</p><p>Happy looked at her confused. “What is it? Is this our target?”</p><p>“Yes. But we can’t destroy it, not yet.” Lucy explained. “This job has been weird from the start, and the truth is in this book.”</p><p>Suddenly, the sound of large mechanisms moving could be heard behind them. They both turned to see two of the bookcases moving to the side, revealing a secret passageway containing two men in the shadows. “Is that so? Then would you mind handing it over? Our client would most certainly like a look at it then.”</p><p>“Who are you?” Lucy said, shoving Daybreak into Happy’s paws. Something told her these two were tough customers.</p><p>The two men walked into the light of the library, revealing their features. One was exceptionally tall, wearing a jacket that didn’t cover the tattoos going down one arm. The other was slightly taller than Lucy, and had a tattooed face, lacking any hair on his head besides a long braid coming out the back. He also seemed to be wielding a giant frying pan, and Lucy doubted that its primary purpose was cooking. Most noticeable about the two of them was the square cloth on both their arms, bearing the symbol of a guild.</p><p>“I recognize that symbol! You guys are with the Mercenary Guild, Southern Wolves! What are you doing here!” Happy yelled in shock.</p><p>The smaller one looked at the talking skull in confusion, before answering. “We are known as the Vanish Brothers. We were hired to deal with our client’s recent <em>rat</em> problem. The Duke went off to deal with the problem himself this time though. Hopefully we can exterminate this one before he gets back, younger brother.”</p><p>Lucy stared down the two professional mercenaries with fear. She really hoped Lisanna was having better luck than her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Chapter: Exit the Everlue Estate</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Exit the Everlue Estate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The two Fairy Tail Mages fight against Everlue and his staff, and learn a dark secret.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the library of the Everlue Estate, the Mages and Mercenaries both stood ready for a fight. Both had jobs to complete and weren’t going to let the other get in the way of their pay.</p><p>“I’m getting out of here, and I won’t be stopped by some hired thugs!” Lucy shot back, readying her whip. Inside her mind however, she was worried. They had mentioned another problem, but the only other problem they could be talking about was Lisanna. Had she been found out already?</p><p>The taller one scoffed. “You Mages are all the same, thinking your tougher than everyone just because you know a fancy spell or two. The last fool didn’t even get a single attack in before I broke their bones in a single punch.” He then shot forward at a blinding speed, hoping to catch his opponent off guard.</p><p>Lucy wasn’t an idiot, however, and already knew how to deal with these two. In a golden flash, the younger Vanish Brother found his punch intercepted by the face of a giant axe. He jumped back next to his sibling again to observe the new threat. In front of Lucy stood what appeared to be a giant bipedal cow, wielding a great axe almost twice the height of the girl itself.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>“Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!”</em> </strong>
</p><p>“Mooo! Who dares to try harm Lucy’s sexy body?!” The giant Bull-man yelled. The two brothers looked at their new opponent like a predator stalking its prey.</p><p>“A Celestial Spirit Mage? And a golden key is one of a kind, isn’t it?” The younger one said.</p><p>“I think I saw 7 keys. Not that it matters. Once their squishy master is dealt with, their all out of commission.” The older one said.</p><p>“Hey, I take offence to that!” Lucy yelled.</p><p>“That right! Lucy’s boobs aren’t squishy, they’re actually quite firm!” Taurus added.</p><p>Lucy immediately produced a noise that could be interpreted as squawking as all the males in the room turned their gaze to her, as if to confirm the fact themselves. “W-What the hell are you talking about you oaf! Hurry up and beat these two!”</p><p>As if a switch had been flipped, the two Vanish Brothers began to run toward Taurus, fists and pan raised. The older brother reached the Celestial Spirit first, swinging his oversized culinary equipment up as Taurus brought his axe down on the man. The axe and pan bounced off each other with a resounding clang, sending the two wielders stumbling back by the force. However, while the brother was launched back many feet by the blow, Taurus merely was knocked back a step, with the axe flung back up over his head in recoil. He was only open for a second, but that was enough for a seasoned professional, and the younger brother was right behind his elder, aiming right for the Bull’s exposed stomach. But right before he made contact, he found his instincts flare up.</p><p>
  <em>*Snap*</em>
</p><p>He jumped back just in time to avoid the tip of a whip that snapped into the air he had just been occupying. As he regrouped with his older brother, he saw the Celestial Spirit Mage with a whip in her hands, a determined look on her face. “You’re not the only one who fights in pairs! You’re the one’s who are underestimating your opponents!”</p><p>“So, you have a bit of martial prowess after all. It’s been a while since any opponent had any bark!” The younger brother couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice.</p><p>“Calm yourself brother, we have our professional pride to think about.” The older brother lectured. “Let’s us show these two what a true united attack looks like.”</p><p>“Right! Time to show you why we are called the Vanish Brothers.”</p><p>The older brother then held his fighting pan out in front of himself, and the elder brother jumped on top of it. “NOW! <em>Heaven and Earth Extinct Slaying Technique</em>!”</p><p>In a feat of ridiculous strength, the younger brother was launched up into the air by his sibling as if the pan he had been standing on was a trampoline. Lucy and Taurus couldn’t help but stare at the display. “If you look up to the heavens…”</p><p>They both looked down in surprise. There was another clang as the younger brother and Celestial Spirit clashed weapons again. However, Taurus found himself caught off guard this time, barely able to block the blow in time. “We are down here on earth!” the older brother declared.</p><p>“Taurus!” Lucy readied her whip to help her friend.</p><p>“If you look around on earth…”</p><p><em>‘Shit!’ </em>Lucy tried reaching for her keys.</p><p>“We are up in the heavens!” the younger brother finished as he launched down from the ceiling, launching toward Lucy fists first like a missile.</p><p>“LUCY!” Happy yelled as his friend disappeared into the floor with a crash.</p><p>“Hmph, no one has ever survived our ultimate technique. Now hand over the book, you imp.” The older brother declared. Taurus had vanished, leaving Happy alone with the mercenaries, clutching Daybreak like his life depended on it. The three stood in a rather unequal standoff, until an odd voice was heard.</p><p>“<em>“That really hurt you jerks.” </em>she says.”</p><p>They all turned toward the strange voice to find it had come from the newly formed hole in the floor. The one which Lucy had just been sent through.</p><p>They all moved over to the hole and looked down to see what appeared to be a living grandfather clock looking back up at them from the inside of a rather spacious open bath on the floor below them. The interior of said clock appeared to be hollow, containing within its center Lucy. “<em>“The people in this mansion really don’t know how to treat a woman.” </em>she complains loudly.” The clock says, seemingly mimicking what the girl inside itself was saying.</p><p>The two brothers looked at each other in confusion, before shrugging and jumping down the hole to properly finish their target. Happy tried to stealthily float into the room as well. They splashed into the bathing room on the first floor, looking over the giant clock as it attempted to waddle away from them. The younger brother raised his pan back and swung at the living clock. The clock and girl within it went flying to the other end of the rather large room, but both appeared to suffer no damage otherwise.</p><p>“<em>“Don’t bother. The Gate of the Clock, Horologium, is the ultimate defensive magic user!”</em> she says smugly.” Lucy’s smirk could also be seen from within the Spirit, verifying Horologium’s mimicked declaration.</p><p>“Maybe, but there’s a limit to it, isn’t there? Why don’t you save everyone the trouble and surrender peacefully? Consider it a reward for surviving our ultimate attack.” The younger brother declared.</p><p>“<em>“You’re the one’s you should surrender! Now that I have this much water, I can show you </em>my<em> ultimate technique!”</em> she yells.” From within the Spirit, Lucy could be seen holding another golden key. Horologium disappeared from around Lucy, and she plunged the key into the water beneath her before either Vanish Brother could react. <strong><em>“Open, Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!”</em></strong></p><p>The water around her shot up and a golden light flashed through it, signalling the summoning of a Celestial Spirit. When the water fell and the light faded, in its place was a beautiful mermaid as blue as the water, holding a vase. Her gaze betrayed her beauty however, as she looked around with a fury. As the Vanish Brothers prepared for a fight, the Zodiac Celestial Spirit raised the vase in her hands menacingly…</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>And bonked it on top of her summoners head. Aquarius quickly turned her fury into words. “What the hell is wrong with you, summoning me in the bath?! What are you, five? I told you what would happen if you ever did this again!”</p><p>“Oh crap! I’m outta here!” Happy yelled, flying away and bursting through the doors to the main hall.</p><p>“This is your ultimate technique? A spirit that doesn’t even listen to its own master. How disappointing, Mages truly are all talk.” The younger brother shook his head.</p><p>“You have something to say about me?” Aquarius sneered.</p><p>“Yeah, my brother said your disappointing. What are you going to do, splash us to death?” the older brother mocked.</p><p>“…Alright, you two are dead.” The mermaid said in a monotone, lifting the vase in her hands and moving the water around her. “<strong><em>Torrent!</em></strong>”</p><p>As a giant surge of water shot towards the two Vanish Brothers, they both just smirked. The younger brother laughed. “Finally, you took the bait!”</p><p>The older brother laughed and held the giant pan of to his side, with the bottom of it facing the Fairy Tail Mage. “Time for one of my ultimate elemental reversal techniques! <strong><em>Water Cooking!!</em></strong>”</p><p>The water from Aquarius’s attack converged onto the bottom of the pan, and the older brother began to turn himself and the pan around, water flowing with it. “This attack absorbs and multiplies the power of the attack, throwing it right back!”</p><p>Lucy’s eyes widened at that. If Aquarius’s attack was thrown back them twofold, there wouldn’t be anything left of her! And there’s nowhere to run, as they were between her and the only door. Even Aquarius must have been worried, as she disappeared a second later. Lucy hastily drew back her whip and flicked it forward as she tried desperately to derail the attack.</p><p>The younger brother jumped in front of his elder, blocking the blow with his arms as the front of the pan finally turned to face her. “Looks like your outnumbered now!”</p><p>“No, she’s not!”</p><p>“What?!” both brothers turned their heads to see a skull flying straight at them. Happy had burst through the doors to the bath, torpedoing straight for the brothers. In the middle of attacking or defending, they were left completely open from behind. He wasn’t aiming for them, however.</p><p>
  <em>*Bang*</em>
</p><p>Happy’s forehead hit the highest point of the pan right before unleashing its attack, tilting its front face down towards the floor instead of Lucy. His skull helmet had cracked, but protected him from the blow, allowing him to continue flying straight into Lucy.</p><p>“WHAT THE-”</p><p>“OH SHI-”</p><p>
  <strong> <em>*BOOM*</em> </strong>
</p><p>Whatever the brothers had said was quickly drowned out by the younger one’s own technique finishing, releasing a magically multiplied blast of water directly at their feet. The force of the blast knocked all the water out of the bathes around them and threw Lucy back, who was holding onto Happy for dear life. Blinded by the water, all she could hear was what sounded like waves of water crashing against rock faced canyons. Eventually the sound lowered itself from crashing waves to a steady stream, and Lucy finally opened her eyes.</p><p>“Wow! You really should stop summoning that one, huh!” Happy exclaimed happily as the remains of the mask he was wearing finally fell off his head.</p><p>Lucy just sighed as she looked around what remained of the bathing room. Many of the tiles on the walls had cracked from the force, and the floor wasn’t much better. The room was soaked from head to toe, the bathwater having been blown up and out to everywhere but the bath’s themselves. Ground Zero of the attack was entirely gone, having blown a hole into the floor and down into a labyrinthian looking basement. The Vanish Brothers could be seen down there under a pile of rubble and utterly drenched, but thankfully still breathing. She looked down at her own soaked clothes and was now glad she hadn’t gotten a chance to change from the maid outfit. Nothing would look good after getting this drenched…</p><p>“Oh Crap!” Lucy suddenly remembered. “Happy, where’s the book?” If it had gotten caught up in the blast, then she’d never be able to find the truth!</p><p>“Don’t worry, I left it in the main hall!”</p><p>Lucy got up and slowly made her way to the main hall, careful not to slip and fall into the gaping chasm between her and the doors. When she pushed the door open, Lucy flew past her and pointed to a spot in the large hall.</p><p>“Aye Sir! It’s right… there?!”</p><p>Looking to where Happy pointed, Lucy didn’t see just Daybreak, but a hole next to it, with a hand reaching out of it, about to grab the book.</p><p>“Hey, stop!” Lucy quickly prepped her whip and cracked it forward, but the hand had already grabbed the book, and pulled it into the darkness.</p><p>“That had to be the Duke! How do we get him if he’s underground?” Happy cried.</p><p>“We go underground too!” Lucy quickly turned around and ran back into the bathing room. She jumped down into the newly created rift to the basement and kept running.</p><p>
  <em>‘Lisanna should be down here, right? If the two of us join up, we can take that creep no problem!’</em>
</p><hr/><p>Lisanna ducked under another giant swipe, before jumping backwards to avoid being overtaken by the hulking woman chasing her. The two of them had been in a game of cat and mouse for a while now, with them currently jumping around in one of the larger basement rooms. Most of the Duke’s helpers had gone down without a fight, as expected of maids, but the pink haired giantess was putting up a fight. She couldn’t tell if it was due to any prior combat experience, or simply due to the obvious size difference, but Lisanna found herself constantly on the back foot. Their mastery of Digger Magic was also impressive and using her knowledge of the labyrinthian basement of the Estate to keep catching Lisanna off guard.</p><p>It was becoming quite clear during her fight that wherever this book was, it wasn’t in the basement. Lisanna would have tried to leave by now if not for the fact that she was serving as a distraction for Lucy and Happy, along with having a gorilla of a woman breathing down her neck.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>*BOOM*</em> </strong>
</p><p>“What the hell?!” Lisanna nearly tripped as the entire world around her shook. The sound of a crashing wave could be heard in the distance, and a steady stream of water suddenly began to flow from one of the hall entranceways. “What the hell is going on up there?”</p><p>“Probably the Vanish Brothers dealing with your friend. You’ll be joining her soon.” The maid said.</p><p>There was a sound of stone breaking behind Lisanna, and she turned around to see Duke Everlue pop out of a hole in the ceiling right behind her. She jumped back away from him, only to bump her back into a wall of fat. She looked up over her shoulders to see the serious face of the giantess maid. “Um, hi?” She was quickly pushed to the ground by a set of large hands, unable to move under the immense weight.</p><p>“Ah Virgo, perfect timing with capturing this scamp.” The Duke praised, holding a yellow book under his arm. “Maybe I’ll finally be able to get an answer out of you two now!”</p><p>Lisanna looked up in confusion. “What are you…?”</p><p>Suddenly, the sound of feet could be heard splashing down the hall towards them. A moment later, Lucy ran around the corner, a fierce look in her eyes. Upon seeing her friend however, it changed to panic. “Lisanna!”</p><p>“Ah, just in time. Now that I have the attention of you two, we can get down to business.” The Duke of Everlue said, in a voice that made it clear that he was in charge. “Clearly this book here is important to somebody, and I want to know who. Tell me, and I might just let you go free.”</p><p>Lucy just scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. Why do you have a one of a kind book written by Kemu Zaleon in the first place? Is that even real?”</p><p>The Duke shot her a disgusted look. “Of course it’s real! Do you know how much work it took to get him to write a book all about me?! I eventually had to threaten to withdraw his family’s citizenships!” He stopped for a moment to look at the book, before developing a wicked grin. “That got him to think straight! Of course, he’d already tarnished my honor by rejecting such a glorious offer, so I made him write the entire thing from a cell! He didn’t see a single person other than yours truly for all those three years!”</p><p>“You monster!” Lucy yelled, stepping toward the man.</p><p>“Don’t move! Unless you <em>want</em> your friend here to get anymore roughed up.” He threatened. Understanding her master’s implications, Virgo pushed harder down onto Lisanna, producing a gasp from the trapped girl and stopping Lucy in her tracks.</p><p><em>‘Damnit! If I could just get out of this grip, then Lucy could take this guy. What do I do?’ </em>Lisanna squirmed, trying to find some way out of her predicament. ‘Wait, I have just the spell for this! Now I just need a chance to use it without getting crushed…’</p><p>“So now, tell me who would be foolish enough to try messing with the great Duke Everlue!” The man yelled, holding Daybreak up in the air.</p><p>“…Alright.” Lucy sighed, lowering her head. Lisanna looked up in confusion, but when their eyes met, she saw Lucy looked anything but defeated. “The person who hired us is…”</p><p>“Your face!” A voice yelled from behind everyone. Suddenly a blue blur shot by from out of view and grabbed Daybreak from the Dukes outstretched hand.</p><p><em>‘Happy! Guess he was pretty good at sneaking around after all.’</em> Lisanna thought while looking up at Virgo, who was thoroughly distracted by the ambush. <em>‘Now’s my chance! I won’t fail this job! <strong>Animal Soul: Hedgehog!</strong>’</em></p><p>In a flash of light, Lisanna transformed as much of herself as she could. Her back, stomach, arms, and even her hair. In a moment she had turned into a ball of spikes, and without hesitation, flexed, shooting the pointy projectiles up at the unsuspecting maid.</p><p>“Wha-?!” Virgo was suddenly knocked back by the attack, taken completely by surprise. When the hulking woman fell back onto the ground, however, she disappeared in a golden light.</p><p>“No way, how did you beat Virgo?!” the Duke shrieked.</p><p>Lucy looked over shocked at where the maid had just been. “She was a Zodiac Celestial Spirit?!”</p><p>The Duke suddenly lunged at Lucy, making a run for the book while Lucy was staring. “You people have broken the last straw! You’ll pay for messing with a man as great as me!”</p><p><em>‘I don’t think so! <strong>Sonic Spin!</strong>’ </em>Lisanna used her Animal Soul Magic to curl into a ball and shoot at the fat man at an incredible speed. She knocked into the Duke, and the spinning quills teared up the man’s suit and hair, before knocking him through a wall.</p><p>Once the man had cleared the room however, an ominous sound could be heard echoing through the basement. The walls creaked, and the ground rumbled. Lisanna looked around and saw that some of the holes around the room appeared to have grown. “I think we should get outta here!” She exclaimed worried.</p><p>They made their way up and out the basement the way Lucy came in, and upon finding the nearest window, flew away with the help of Happy and Animal Soul. As they were flying away, the entire Estate began to sink into the ground. The two girls looked to each other surprised.</p><p>“I guess me and those maids dug a few to many holes…”</p><p>“I’m sure all of the water damage didn’t help any…”</p><p>Happy looked at the Estate, which now appeared to be nothing but a roof sticking out of the ground.</p><p>“Wow Lucy! You really destroyed this place. First the boat, and now the mansion. You really are a fit for Fairy Tail!”</p><hr/><p>After flying a few blocks away from the Everlue Estate (and making sure the fuzz wasn’t tailing them) the Fairy Tail Mages set down in a secluded and empty park. Lisanna landed and turned her wings back into arms using Animal Soul but felt a pang of pain when she did. <em>‘What the hell was that.’</em> She thought worried.</p><p>Happy set Lucy down beside her, right before he flopped onto the ground, wings disappearing. “Ah geez, I’m at my limit. That was exhausting…” Happy moaned face-first into the soft grass.</p><p>Lucy bent over, catching her breath as the adrenaline finally faded. “Same here. I don’t think I’ve ever opened so many gates in one day. How about y- Lisanna!”</p><p>Lisanna put up a hand. “Don’t worry Lucy, just a bit tired, I guess we all went a bit overboard-”</p><p>“Not that! You’re gravely Injured!”</p><p>“What? I don’t remember getting hit- Oh…” Lisanna looked herself over and realized that most of her newly acquired maid uniform had been shredded, likely due to using Hedgehog Soul across her entire body. This had the unfortunate effect of exposing much of her body and…</p><p>“Are those scars?” Lucy gasped in horror. The scars covered Lisanna’s entire body. There were all kind of marks up and down her limbs, but most noticeably however was the one on her stomach, which looked like it had been pierced by something large. “What kind of monster did that?”</p><p>“They didn’t mean to!” Lisanna yelled angrily, before slamming her mouth shut. “I-I mean, it was an accident. It’s not important.” She tried to hide the exposed scars, but the state of her clothes made it a rather futile effort, resulting in her just squirming on the spot.</p><p>Lucy couldn’t help but notice during Lisanna’s fit that there were even scars on her face. In fact, there was a noticeable scratch mark across her eyes that was so deep she was surprised the woman could still see. Lucy looked at her friend confused at how she never noticed such obvious wounds.</p><p>“Lisanna, calm down!” Lucy snapped out of her analysis to see Happy trying to console an increasingly panicking Lisanna.</p><p>Lucy quickly slapped her cheeks. <em>‘Focus Lucy, your friend is uncomfortable. You can think about that stuff later.’ </em>She used a bit of Requip Magic to summon the clothes they had been wearing before changing into their maid disguises, while putting the book away with the same magic. While she couldn’t hold much, there was enough space for some clothes. “Hey Lisanna, it’s okay, just put these on. Everything’s fine, I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”</p><p>Lisanna looked up at her with teary eyes and a complicated look, before snatching the clothing out of her hands wordlessly and running off behind some nearby hedges to change. Lucy just sighed before turning around to look for a place to do the same, leaving Happy there alone to wait for the two.</p><p>When Lucy returned, she found Happy was still by himself where she left him. “Is she still not back yet?” she asked concerned.</p><p>“Lisanna went to that café we saw near the train station, said to meet her there.” Happy responded.</p><p>“Is she okay though?”</p><p>“… Let’s just go find her.” he said quietly, walking slowly out of the park.</p><hr/><p>The door to the café opened with a chime as Lucy and Happy walked into the establishment with a sense of trepidation, searching the seats for a particular customer. The place was surprisingly empty for an afternoon outside of a train station, but Lucy supposed that was a positive in this current situation.</p><p><em>‘I think that’s her…’ </em>Lucy thought as she squinted at one of them. In the corner, at a small table, sat a woman in an overly large jacket. The article of clothing completely concealed their face, along with covering their arms and going down to just above her knees. The only things that gave it away is firstly that she knew that Lisanna would probably be concealing her look, so the oversized jacket kinda drew attention instead of turning it away.</p><p>Secondly was that she could easily recognize the skinny jeans (and the legs wearing them) that poked out underneath the coat as Lisanna’s. Lucy tried not to think about that last one too much.</p><p>
  <em>‘So, you can recognize them that easily, huh?’</em>
</p><p><em>‘Shut up brain.’</em> Lucy shook her head as she walked over and pulled up a seat. “Hey Lisanna.” she said gently.</p><p>The hooded figure jumped, clearly not having seen Lucy approach. “… Hey guys.” Lisanna’s voice replied. Lucy sat down across from her, while Happy jumped up onto the hooded girls lap.</p><p>“…”</p><p>“…”</p><p>The two girls sat in silence, neither knowing where to start. Happy eventually got up and summoned his wings. “I’m, uh, going to get a drink. Back in a sec.” he said awkwardly, before floating away from the silent duo.</p><p>Lucy looked up at Lisanna’s hooded face and tried to figure out what to say. “Look, you don’t have to talk about any of… all that if you don’t want to. I just was worried you were hurt! I don’t want to think what Natsu or Mira would do to me if you came back hurt.” She said sadly.</p><p>The hood of Lisanna’s coat dipped down. “I guess that means you don’t want to go on missions with me anymore then.”</p><p>Lucy looked at the other woman confused. “What?! Why in the world would I do that!”</p><p>“Because I’m useless! You saw how I look, I’m weak and ugly and can’t do anything. I needed you to save me back then with the Duke. You were even the one who found the book, all I did was get in the way.” She said, before scoffing. “Besides, like you said. You wouldn’t want to have to babysit me like everyone else does. I thought that since you were new, I could get away from that stuff. Guess I was wrong…”</p><p>Lucy just sat there in astonishment. Out of all the ways the conversation could have gone, that wasn’t one that she predicted. When she finally found the words to say, she said the only thing she could think of.</p><p>“That’s not true.”</p><p>“What?” Lisanna’s head shot up in surprise so fast it knocked her hood back slightly, finally letting the two see eye to eye for the first time upon entering the café.</p><p>“There’s no way I even would have gone on this job without your encouragement. You came up with the plans to disguise ourselves, which <em>totally</em> would have worked on any normal person. You also came up with the idea of digging in, and you did beat Virgo by yourself, even if it wasn’t entirely clean. As a Celestial Spirit Mage, let me tell you, Zodiac Spirits are no joke.” Lucy took a calming breath before continuing. “What I’m trying to say is that you did great during the mission, and I would love to go on more with you. As a <em>team</em>.”</p><p>“…”</p><p>“Uh, Lisanna?”</p><p>“Thank You!”</p><p>“Ah?!” Lucy nearly fell off her chair as Lisanna practically jumped onto her.</p><p>Lisanna let up on her affectionate assault. “I’m sorry, I just… You’re right. And thank you.” She got up and sat in her own seat again.</p><p>“I still don’t understand how I never noticed… all that before.” Lucy questioned.</p><p>“My sister is a master at Transformation Magic. She made a spell that hides what my body looks like. Unfortunately, I’m not experienced enough to cast it myself, and it uses my own magical power to stay active. If I use all my magic or divert the magic keeping the spell running somewhere else, it breaks.”</p><p>“Like when you defeated Virgo?”</p><p>Lisanna nodded. “This job was so important to me. I didn’t want to fail, no matter what, so I put everything into that Take Over without realizing it.” She suddenly snapped to attention. “Speaking of the job though, I guess we still haven’t completed it.”</p><p>“Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that.” Lucy deadpanned, before summoning forth the book. “I don’t think we should destroy it yet. Call it a hunch, but I don’t think Duke Everlue was the only one who didn’t know the truth about this book.”</p><hr/><p>One stop to their ‘clients’ mansion later and the three Fairy Tail Members were finally and happily on their way back to the train station.</p><p>Happy flew around the two girls excitedly. “Wow Lucy, how did you know that guy was really Kemu Zaleon’s son?”</p><p>“I figured that if Kemu Zaleon had really spent three years writing that book, that he had to be writing it for someone important to him. And it’s the only reason “Kaby Melon” would want to destroy the book. He didn’t know the truth of the book but knew <em>of</em> it. He was protecting his fathers honor.” Lucy said satisfactorily. “I’m more impressed with how you figured out that they didn’t actually live there, Lisanna.”</p><p>Lisanna looked away bashfully, hood hiding her face. “There was just something about the way they acted. Like they were uncomfortable with their own house. Plus, when they increased the price to such a ludicrous degree, I knew there was something wrong about the job.”</p><p>Lucy turned in shock. “What? But when I asked about it you just blew me off.”</p><p>Lisanna tried to hide inside her oversized coat even more. “I was embarrassed! I didn’t want to admit that it was a bad idea after hyping things up so much. Sorry…”</p><p>“Well, let’s make sure to pick our next job together then. That way we can share the embarrassment.” Lucy chuckled.</p><p>“Aye! I doubt we would have been paid if this job was legit anyway, thanks to all the damages.” Happy said. “For all you rag on at Natsu, your just as bad as him, huh Lisanna.”</p><p>The hooded figure looked at the flying feline. “You take that back!”</p><p>“Yeah, there’s no way Lisanna is as good at breaking stuff as I am!”</p><p>“Exactly, thank you Natsu. You see-!” Everyone suddenly turned to see two Dragon Slayers standing behind them, and Carla flying around them. “…How?”</p><p>“I took the first train over!” Natsu answered plainly. “I also grabbed Wendy just in case. You guys look fine though.”</p><p>Wendy walked up to Lisanna carefully. “You <em>are</em> okay, right?”</p><p>“I just overdid it a little, that’s all.”</p><p>Happy flew over to Carla, trying to get he attention. “Hey, Carla, you should have seen me! I managed to take out two pro mercs and find the book we were looking for. Pretty cool, huh?”</p><p>Carla looked unimpressed. “I’m sure that the other two will be able verify these amazing feats?”</p><p>Happy puffed his chest out. “Of course. I bet Reedus will have a portrait of my victory complete by the end of the week!”</p><p>“Would you two stop flirting for a minute, we’ve got jobs to do.” Natsu yelled cheekily up at them.</p><p>“Aye Sir!”</p><p>“W-We weren’t flirting you oaf!”</p><p>“What jobs?” Lucy asked him confused.</p><p>“I figured that you’d need to make some actual money, so when I picked up Wendy, I grabbed as many jobs from this area as we could.” Natsu said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a handful of flyers.</p><p>“Actually, you literally dragged me out of the Guild Building without saying a word. We had to double back after you told the two of us what happened.”</p><p>Natsu got a grumpy look on his face at the interruption, but quickly continued. “<em>Anyway</em>, this might not be enough for your rent Lucy, but between the six of us we should be able to make a decent amount before we head back, alright.”</p><p>Lucy looked around as the people and cats around her quickly started grabbing at the job flyers and discussing the options. She felt a tug on her arm and turned to see Lisanna holding a particular paper towards her.</p><p>“So… What do you think of this job?”</p><p>“I think anything here would be incredible compared to our last job.”</p><p>As Lucy began looking through the pile of requests with her friends, she couldn’t help but feel that she could take on anything with them. <em>‘Joining Fairy Tail was probably the best decision I’ve ever made!”</em></p><hr/><p>Elsewhere, in a dead forest just outside of Oshibana Town, sat a dark and ominous building. Inside of the building sat a not-so-merry band of men, drinking and scheming the evening away. Erigor sat alone, drink in hand, trying to plan their next move. Their Guild Master had been imprisoned recently during the crackdowns, leaving him the de-facto leader. <em>‘How is it our fault what jobs we get. People like us need work too.’</em></p><p>This resulted in him finally giving in and deciding contact one of the Balam Alliance. After all, if the Council won’t accept their work, they’ll just have to find someone who does. He had been careful with his selection though, since while the Council may arrest them for not listening, some of these groups wouldn’t hesitate to kill for slighting. </p><p>Tartarus was immediately scratched from the list of options. The rumors about them made his skin crawl, and despite being referred to as the death god, he had no interest in selling him and his friends’ souls to demons. Besides, they tended to seek out the ones they want, instead of the other way around.</p><p>Grimoire Heart was the most likely choice, as the so called strongest Dark Guild, but he had some reservations about them as well. They tended to absorb other guilds and arrange their members in ways that seem fit across many organizations. He was doing this for the Guild, so joining them seemed counterintuitive in that case. He would no doubt be singled out among the rest of them.</p><p>That left just one option. While they were newer, their power had been making waves in the underground scene in the last few years. Apparently the other two members officially recognized them recently, going as far as to help supply and support the group. Something about the sudden cooperation between Dark Guilds rang some alarm bells in his head, but he was willing to overlook the sound for now. They were apparently putting entire Dark Guilds to work as contract employers, the perfect work for a guild of thieves and killers like them.</p><p>Rumour had it they only had six members in their guild, so he could see why they needed so much hired help. Either way, the choice was obvious for him. Now he just had to hope for a response before the Council came knocking at their doors-</p><p>
  <strong> <em>*ROOOAR*</em> </strong>
</p><p>Suddenly, the sound of a roar echoed from outside the doors leading to their hall. All the rogues present turned their heads at the unrecognized and inhumane sound, slowly reaching for their weapons. The sound of old doors creaking open resounded about the room, and two figures casually entered the shady structure as if walking into their favorite bar.</p><p>On the right was a beautiful woman with waving green hair and a fancy red dress. On the left was a man with blonde hair and wearing an outfit that had enough leather to be out of a western. He was also carrying a greatsword as large and thick as the man himself. Behind them was the source of the thundering sound, a hulking beast of wings and scales. The being appeared to be a Wyvern, but the aura coming off it made the men inside begin to shake in their seats.</p><p>Erigor slowly got up from his seat and walked towards the newcomers, scythe in hand. The two looked unfamiliar, but for all he knew they had been hired to arrest them all by the Council.</p><p>“Well this place has certainly seen better times.” The man said unimpressed.</p><p>“Oh, be fair to them. They haven’t had a proper job in ages.” The woman said.</p><p>This comment drew the ire of many, who’s rage blinded them of their fear. Before they could do something they’d all regret, Erigor walked up to greet them. “Welcome strangers. If you’re aware of who we are, then I assume you’re in need of our services.”</p><p>The woman pulled out a rolled-up scroll from somewhere on her person and unrolled it to reveal the letter Erigor himself had sent. “My name is Reina, and this gentleman next to me is Jegan. We are your new employers.”</p><p>Erigor looked at the two in surprise. “You two are members of…”</p><p>The woman got a cheeky grin before continuing. “Yep! You all are now official subordinates of the Oracion Seis. And lucky for you, we already have a job for you.”</p><p>Erigor couldn’t help the ear-to-ear grin that stretched across his face. Finally, things were starting to look up for him. “Well then you’ve come to the right place. What job do you need done by the illustrious Eisenwald?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Chapter: Beginnings of a Song</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Beginnings of a Song</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lucy tries to get Wendy to open up, while a dark plot looms.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I recently renamed the story to make it in line with the version on FFN. I won't be breaking the stories up by arcs anymore, and have it as one big work. Less clutter that way. Anyways, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a Kudos and Comment!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Out in a quiet orchard outside Onibus Town, Lucy stood basking in the shade of a nearby tree. She was out on another job, protecting the workers from any magical beasts that may appear from the nearby forests while they picked their fruit. It was honestly the most boring job she had taken so far as a member of Fairy Tail.</p><p>According to the manager they had talked to, there hadn’t been an incident at this place for over 5 years, and it was never more than an overzealous herbivore trying to pick something for itself. While she wasn’t against getting paid for just standing around, they really didn’t offer much, due to the lack of risk. Honestly, she only took this job for one reason.</p><p>Lucy looked over across the hill she had been standing on to see that reason. Under another large fruit tree stood Wendy. She was chatting with Carla about something, but she had this look on her face that Lucy recognized. It wasn’t quite sadness. It was the same look that Lucy had back when her mother passed away. A look of loneliness.</p><p>The girl had also kept glancing at Lucy when she thought she wasn’t looking. Honestly, Wendy had been spying on her for a while, catching glances at the Guild Building or on jobs. It was starting to get a bit weird.</p><p><em>‘Come on, it’s your job as one of Wendy’s friends to try and cheer her up!’</em> Lucy berated herself in her mind. She probably understood how Wendy felt more than the others realized, and it would be wrong of her not to help. As she wandered over to the two, she thought back to Erza’s words earlier in the day.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>-This Morning-</em>
</p><p>Lucy had started her day searching the Guild for anyone to do a job with but found it rather empty. Lisanna had gone out with Levy and Team Shadow Gear on a job, but luckily Natsu was still sitting around the hall. He had also been looking for someone to work with, since as soon as their eyes met, he rushed over and practically pushed her to the job board.</p><p>As Lucy stared at the job board looking for work, she heard the sound of rustling armor come up behind her. She turned around and was unsurprisingly met with the view of Erza walking at a brisk pace toward her, a serious (even compared to normal) look on her face.</p><p>“Ah, Lucy! Just the woman I was hoping to see.” She greeted as Carla flew up behind her. “I’m glad I caught you before you left. Could you do a favor for me?”</p><p>Lucy looked confused at the suddenness of the request, but quickly nodded her head. “Of course, anything.”</p><p>“Could you go with Wendy on her mission today?” Erza asked.</p><p>“Oh, I was actually planning to go on one with Natsu-”</p><p>“I know, but I need to borrow him as well. Guild Emergency.” Erza interrupted. “It’s a long story, but there are some dangerous individuals I’ve recently caught wind of, and I need help to take them out.” She continued before sighing. “Seriously, why did all our best mages decide <em>today</em> of all days to actually go do work instead of drinking? The Master is at the Guild Masters’ meeting, Ur took Ultear on another training trip, Mira’s on that S-Class mission at Galuna Island, and Jellal is who knows where!”</p><p>Lucy nodded. “Alright, that sounds serious... But what exactly does that have to do with Wendy?”</p><p>Carla landed on a nearby railing before explaining. “I know this might sound odd, but sometimes I get these feelings, like I know that something will happen. As crazy as it sounds, they’ve almost always been right.”</p><p>“And you had one about Wendy?” Lucy guessed.</p><p>“Yes, and I doubt that it and Erza’s ‘emergency’ are unrelated.” Carla finished.</p><p>“Thus, we would appreciate if you went along with her mission today.” Erza asked again.</p><p>“Why don’t you just tell her to stay home if you two are so worried?” Lucy asked the obvious.</p><p>Erza just shook her head. “That would just make things worse, unfortunately. She would probably ask why I wouldn’t be able to go with her, and if she found out about my mission, she would insist on coming along to help me.”</p><p>Carla nodded in agreement. “Yup, but if you end up coincidentally without anyone to go on a job with, Wendy will feel she has no choice but to take you along.”</p><p>“… Alright, I’ll do it.” Lucy finally agreed. “Just be careful, okay?”</p><p>Erza laughed cheerfully, serious look finally fading. “Don’t worry Lucy, I’ve dealt with worse problems than this. Now where is Natsu, time is of the essence.”</p>
<hr/><p>Lucy hoped Erza and the group was fine, but she couldn’t do anything to help from here. All she could do now was focus on helping who was in front of her.</p><p>“Hey Lucy, I did a lap of the orchard. It was the same as the last ten times I did it, though.” Happy said bored, flying down from above the canopy of the trees.</p><p>Lucy looked up at Happy with a look. “You didn’t have to come along with me, you know.”</p><p>Happy grinned. “And miss out on a chance to go on a job with Carla? No way! Speaking of…” He suddenly flew over to the white cat herself. “Hey Carla, want to do another patrol together?”</p><p>Carla looked over her shoulder, clearly about to blow him off for the tenth time today. But when she saw Lucy, she got a contemplative look on her face before finally answering. “I suppose I can spare the time for once. We’ll be back in a minute Wendy.”</p><p>With that the two felines flew off, Happy chatting Carla’s ear off about something as they disappeared into the distance. Lucy decided to take the opportunity to try and strike a conversation. “So, what were you talking about?” She asked.</p><p>“She was trying to get me to go talk to you, actually.” Wendy said, looking embarrassed.</p><p>“Is there something you wanted to ask me?” Lucy asked innocently, as if she wasn’t aware of Wendy’s constant glances.</p><p>“It’s just… when I first saw you, I felt like I’d seen you before. You even smelled familiar… after you stopped smelling like the ocean, that is. But I can’t place why.” Wendy explained, eyes narrowing in thought.</p><p>“That’s pretty weird. I know we hadn’t met before. I wonder who it was…” Lucy thought out loud, before suddenly snapping her fingers. “Oh, maybe you’ve met my Aunt Anna!”</p><p>At the name, Wendy looked over in recognition. “That name… Who is she?”</p><p>“Well, she’s not really my aunt, but she’s closely related to my mother apparently. You’d mistake them for twins if they had stood next to each other!” Lucy reminisced fondly. “She was also a user of Celestial Spirit Magic like my mom, and me. Guess it runs in the family.”</p><p>Wendy looked over surprised. “Wow! Isn’t that kind of Magic super rare? So, the two of them taught you to use Magic?”</p><p>“No…” Lucy sighed. “My mother passed away before I could learn anything from her.”</p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry.” Wendy apologized.</p><p>“It’s fine. Anyway, a bit after my mom passed away, Aunt Anna showed up to pay her respects. I don’t think she wanted anyone to see her, because she had snuck out to my mom’s grave in the middle of the night.” Lucy explained.</p><p>“Then how did you find her?”</p><p>“… I had snuck out to my mom’s grave at the same time.” Lucy said embarrassed. “I did it a lot back then, when I couldn’t sleep. You can imagine my surprise when I ran into someone who looked just like my mom standing over her grave.”</p><p>“I don’t know what I’d do.” Wendy admitted.</p><p>Lucy just sniggered as she continued. “I can tell you what I did. I ran back to the mansion as fast as I could, yelling my head off about a ghost. Probably woke the entire mansion up with my screaming.” Lucy shook her head before continuing. “Dad thought I had a nightmare or was acting out. The look on his face when ‘The Ghost’ walked into the house to explain herself was priceless.”</p><p>Wendy nodded slowly. “I think I can understand how you might have felt.”</p><p>Lucy looked over confused. “What?”</p><p>“Nothing, please continue!” Wendy said suspiciously.</p><p>Lucy decided now wasn’t the time to ruin Wendy’s talkative mood, so she continued. “Anyway, Aunt Anna explained that she was a relative of mom’s and had come to pay her respects. She came by so late at night to avoid the exact situation that ended up in. Eventually she decided to offer to teach me how to use Celestial Spirit Magic, so she stopped by occasionally, to help me learn. It was only a couple times a year, but she was still able to teach me so much. I wish she could have stayed with us permanently.”</p><p>“Why didn’t she? She seemed to like it there.” Wendy pointed out.</p><p>“Well for one, my dad was <em>not</em> a fan of her. Having a woman that looks just like mom around was too much for him, I guess. He even made her wear a hood whenever she visited. The second because she was too busy with her quest.”</p><p>Wendy tilted her head as she asked another question. “Quest? Was she part of a Guild?”</p><p>“No. At least, she never mentioned one. She said that she had some students before me, but when they came to Fiore, they had gotten split up. She had been trying to track them down. I assume you must have bumped into her while she was on her search.” Lucy finished explaining. "Speaking of Guilds though, she's the one who recommended that I join Fairy Tail during her last visit. I wonder why?"</p><p>“That’s really fascinating, but I can’t really remember if I’ve met her before. But if I have, it would explain the recognition.” Wendy sighed deeply. “Why do I keep having this feeling of déjà vu around people?”</p><p>“You’ve had this feeling with other people? Which people would that be?” Lucy asked surprised.</p><p>“When I first came to Fairy Tail I already knew Natsu’s name, apparently. I don’t remember it too well, since it happened a long time ago, but the two of us have always gotten along well, like he’s the big brother I’ve never had. There’s also Porlyusica-” Wendy suddenly cut herself off. “I mean, never mind!”</p><p>Lucy was about to ask Wendy what she meant but decided not to push it and changed subjects again. “Speaking of Natsu, I was chatting with him on a job and he told me that your dragon slayer magic is different than his. What exactly did he mean by that?”</p><p>“It’s actually a bit complicated. I’m a Sky Dragon Slayer, which allows me to absorb air like Natsu does with fire to attack. But Sky Dragons are a type of Dragon that also excel in supportive abilities. I can use Healing Magic, and I’ve even learned a few Enchantments!”</p><p>“That’s amazing! Isn’t Healing Magic a lost art? You Dragon Slayers really are impressive.” Lucy said amazed. “But wait a minute. Enchantment is a pretty complicated magic as well. I can’t imagine there’s many people around you can learn that stuff from. I mean, how old were you when… you joined Fairy Tail?” She asked, quickly realizing that her original question might be a bit insensitive. Wendy clearly understood what Lucy had meant to ask though and was silent for a time.</p><p>“After Grandeeney left,” Wendy started suddenly speaking again, though in a much quieter tone than before. “Irene adopted me, and I lived with her and Erza. She was a lot like Grandeeney, in more ways than one. She was an expert at Enchanting, so she taught me some more advanced stuff… until she disappeared too. As out of nowhere as Grandeeney did.”</p><p>Lucy could here the hurt in her voice. Once was bad enough but having her mother figure disappear twice on her clearly bothered Wendy more than she let on. She wasn’t sure how to help her friend, but knew she needed to help. She promised Erza after all. “I can’t imagine what your going through, but from my experience, you shouldn’t go through this alone. I don’t know if I would have gotten this far without my Celestial Spirits giving me support. I’m sure Natsu or Erza would be able to help you with-”</p><p>“They can’t help! Can’t you see that’s the problem!” Wendy abruptly exclaimed. “It’ll just end the same for everyone else!”</p><p>Lucy looked shocked at the Dragon Slayers’ sudden outburst. She couldn’t understand what Wendy meant. How could people helping each other be a problem? Before she could figure out what Wendy had meant, she heard a voice calling out in the distance.</p><p>“Hey guys!” Happy yelled out, approaching together with Carla. “We ran into the manager while doing our patrol, and he said that they’re all done!”</p><p>“That was earlier than expected.” Lucy noticed.</p><p>“Yes, though I suppose we shouldn’t complain. The job is done, so let’s go home.” Wendy said, rushing away from Lucy and any further discussion.</p><p>Carla and Lucy shared a look before sighing. That girl made no sense sometimes, but Lucy would need to make sense of it if she wanted to help her. As they walked back to the train station in Onibus Town, Lucy wracked her brain for an answer, but kept turning up nothing.</p>
<hr/><p>As the group entered Onibus Town and walked down the main road toward the train station, they noticed a large and loud crowd of people running towards them. The townsfolk bearing down on them seemed to fear whatever was behind them and weren’t going to stop for anything.</p><p>“Carla!”</p><p>“Happy!”</p><p>Wendy and Lucy were both lifted up and over the mob just in time, who passed by underneath them without a second thought.</p><p>“What the hell was that about?” Lucy said, looking back at the fleeing folks.</p><p>“It looks like something’s happening at the train station.” Wendy said. “Do you think anyone is hurt?”</p><p>Lucy looked over to the station and sure enough, there were multiple groups fleeing in the opposite direction of the station. She could even see some smoke coming out from it. “I don’t know, but we should probably go see if we can help.” She responded, while mentally cursing her luck. <em>‘Seriously, what is wrong with this Guild? I can’t even watch people pick fruit without inciting all-out pandemonium!’</em></p><p>While approaching the station, they both saw a familiar redhead in armor, and flew down to greet her. “Erza?! what’s going on?” Wendy asked worried as she set down.</p><p>“Wendy?! Damnit, I forgot this was where your job was!” Erza said frantically. “Never mind, you need to get out of here as soon as possible, before he uses it!”</p><p>“Uses what-?!” Lucy tried to ask, before a giant gale of wind suddenly blew by, kicking up dust into everyone’s eyes. When she could see again, her surroundings had changed dramatically. “The station!”</p><p>Erza turned around to find herself face to face with a wall of wind. Taking a few steps back, she could see it covered the entirety of the train station like a cyclone. “This can’t be a natural storm.” She said worried.</p><p>“Hey Princess! Nice weather we’re having, eh?”</p><p>“Eligor-?!” Erza had tried to turn around at the sound of the new voice but was met with a blast of wind to the face. Caught off guard, the force of the blast sent her flying back and through the wall of wind that had appeared.</p><p>“Erza!” Wendy yelled. She took a step toward where her sister had gone flying.</p><p>“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The voice said again. The two girls looked up to see a man floating in the air, with a scythe resting across his shoulders. “Here I thought it was just the three of those hotheads after us. I don’t know where you four came from, but I need you to join your friends.”</p><p>Eligor then pointed a hand at Wendy. “Since your so eager to see the princess again, you can go first!” Another blast like the one that hit Erza flew out of his palm, heading straight for the smaller girl.</p><p>Unfortunately for him, Wendy wasn’t an average little girl. The blast disappeared before it could properly hit its target, sucked away into the Sky Dragon Slayers mouth. The man known as the Shinigami could only stand gobsmacked at having his attack so effortlessly neutralized.</p><p><em>‘What the hell just happened. Who is this girl?’ </em>He glanced at the two cat-like creatures nearby, and back at the girl in question. <em>‘Wait a minute. If I remember correctly, Fairy Tail is said to have members that can absorb the elements themselves. And they’re followed around by these weird cat things. I thought it was a stupid rumor, but if that’s true,’</em> He looked up at his Wind Wall Spell with newfound worry. <em>‘Then she could screw this whole thing up!’</em></p><p>“Alright, change of plans. I’ll take you out first, then the Guild Masters!” Eligor yelled, thrusting both his hands forward. Another large gust flew out of them, and while it was slightly weaker than the previous two blasts, it had a much larger area of attack.</p><p>Happy and Carla were blown away due to their small size, flying right through the barrier behind them. Lucy nearly joined them, but she had wrapped her whip around a nearby lamppost at the last second. Lucy grabbed one of her keys and held it forward.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>“Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!”</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Taurus appeared in a flash of light. His weight made the gale feel like nothing more than a light breeze. “You dare attack Lucy! This is Moo-st unforgivable!” The spirit began stalking over to Erigor, who still floated in the air casually. When Taurus swung his axe up at the Wind Mage he dodged out of the way like a leaf in the breeze while swinging his scythe across Taurus’ chest in a single movement. The spirit fell over and slowly faded, returning to the spirit world. “I can’t go on anyMoo-re…”</p><p>“No way! He beat Taurus in an instant!?” Lucy couldn’t believe that her physically strongest spirit had been beaten so easily.</p><p>“So, spirits aren’t that different from humans? That’s useful to know.” Erigor laughed. “You’ll have to move a lot faster than that if you want to stay alive against me, you know.” He suddenly felt a shift in the wind behind him and turned his head to see that Wendy had maneuvered herself behind him to attack. To bad he could sense the changing currents.</p><p><strong><em>“Sky Dragon’s Wing Attack!” </em></strong>Wendy gathered the wind around her arms and swung them forward into a combined whirlwind.</p><p>Erigor just smirked before striking a pose and gathering his magic. <strong><em>“Storm Shred!”</em></strong> A swarm of blades made of the wind shot out of his hands, tearing the opposing attack to shreds. “That’s the best you got? I guess I was worried about you for nothing.” He then swung his scythe up menacingly in her direction.</p><p>“Wendy!” Lucy yelled out and swung her whip up and around Erigor’s extended weapon to try and stop it.</p><p>“Fell for it!” Erigor said, swinging around to face Lucy instead. He grabbed the whip and tugged on it as hard as he could. Due to his elevated position Lucy was pulled up into the air, flying helplessly toward the assassin, who raised his scythe at his <em>true</em> target.</p><p>“LUCY!” Wendy screamed for her friend. However, right before contact there was a flash of light, and Erigor’s scythe knocked not into her friend but a grandfather clock.</p><p>“Huh?” Erigor looked confused at his target, which was now wedged into her protective Celestial Spirit. “That’s… not what I expected. But I can make this work.” Gathering his Magic into a leg, he flew down and kicked Horologium with a wind infused kick.</p><p>The Celestial Spirit and its summoner, despite not being hurt by the attack, were still defenseless from being blasted through the wall of wind that had engulfed the rest of her friends.</p><p>The wind howling across the square was the only sound that echoed in Wendy’s ears now. The town had evacuated in the chaos, and all the other mages were trapped in the station. Leaving her alone with the Death God of Eisenwald.</p><p>“And then there was one…” Erigor said ominously. “I’ve never assassinated a Dragon before, so be sure to make this an educational experience!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Chapter: Eye of the Storm</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Eye of the Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Fairy Tail and Eisenwald clash, as darker forces begin to move.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Erza was blown back by Erigor’s surprise attack, the wind sweeping her off her feet despite the weight of her armor. In an instant she was flung through the wall of wind that had encompassed the station only moments prior, the last thing she saw being the assassin floating above her unsuspecting friends.</p><p>“Wendy!” Erza yelled as she landed, armor rattling. She immediately ran up to the unnaturally shaped storm and tried reaching through-</p><p>“Damnit!” Only for the gauntlet to be shredded into pieces, leaving her arm unguarded and bloody. Undetermined, Erza summoned one of her bulkier weapons, a hulking black greatsword, and tried swinging it into the gale. Unfortunately, it didn’t last much longer, as it broke into smaller pieces and blew away in the wind.</p><p><em>‘If going through won’t work…’</em> Erza looked up to see if she could get over, but found the cyclone hugged the stations structure unnaturally, capping off at the top and preventing escape. <em>‘Then under it is! It’s only natural a Wind Spell wouldn’t reach underground!’ </em></p><p>In a flash of light Erza used her Requip Magic, and a giant hammer had appeared in her hands. She then swung down and smashed the tiles at her feet to try and reach the ground underneath.</p><p>At the same moment, Grey and Natsu ran out of the station’s gates to meet up with her, having both beat their respective opponents. Grey was the first to speak, clearly in a panic as well, but for different reasons. “Erza! T=They’re after the Guild Masters in Clover- What the hell are you doing?”</p><p>“Grey, perfect timing! Can you make a drill with your Ice Make Magic?!” Erza asked, ignoring the grave news he had just delivered.</p><p>“Um, where did this storm come from? And why are you trying to dig a hole in the ground?” Natsu asked confused, as usual. Happy and Carla chose that moment to suddenly fly through the wind wall, crashing into the stations wall. Natsu looked over at his partner in a mix of shock and worry. “Happy?! Why are you-”</p><p>“Because Lucy and Wendy are on the other side of this thing with Erigor!” Erza shouted.</p><p>That declaration got the two of them finally moving. Gray put fist in palm to create an icy drill, while Natsu simply ran at the wall fists alight with fire.</p><p>“Why isn’t it working?!” Erza asked as she watched Grey try and drill through the ground, as Natsu bounced off the wind wall behind them.</p><p>“Because ice isn’t that great an excavation tool!” he shot back. “Don’t you have anything useful in that infinite pocket of yours?!”</p><p>“Just keep drilling!” She yelled. “And Natsu, stop running at the wall like that, you’re just wasting energy.”</p><p>Natsu just yelled as he got thrown back again. “Damnit, these Dark Mages set us up!” He suddenly jumped up. “Wait a minute, that reminds me! That guy I fought could move through shadows. He might be able to get us out of here!”</p><p>He quickly turned on his feet to run back into the station and find his defeated foe. Unfortunately, that left him defenseless from the giant clock that flew out of the elemental barricade behind him. “AH!” He was immediately toppled by the surprise projectile.</p><p>The clock faded in a golden light, revealing Lucy lying on top of the Fire Dragon Slayer. “Geez! He was really trying to kill me. Without Horologium, I’d be in two pieces!” she whined.</p><p>“So heavy…” Natsu whined, trying to catch his breath.</p><p>“Lucy, you’re okay!” Erza said relieved, before looking between her, Happy, and Carla, and realizing what that meant. “Wait, if you all are here now, where’s Wendy?”</p><hr/><p>Outside the station and the storm surrounding it, two mages moved around like the wind.</p><p>Wendy jumped back again, dodging another sweep of Erigor’s scythe. She hadn’t been scraped by the attack this time, so that’s a positive. She could tell he was toying with her, but it wouldn’t be long before he got bored.</p><p>“What’s wrong, aren’t going to heal yourself?” Erigor mocked as she put distance between them. “I heard through the grapevine you could use Healing Magic. You think you can fight me without it?”</p><p>Wendy winced at the scrapes on her arms. She would have healed herself if she could, but her Magic unfortunately only worked on others, but not herself. <em>‘That scythe is a problem. I can absorb his Wind Magic, but one good hit with that thing and I’m doomed.’ </em>She thought, trying to come up with a plan. <em>‘At least no one else can get hurt anymore. If they tried to help me further, they might of…’</em></p><p>“Where’s that spunk from before? If you don’t attack, you’ll never beat me!” the assassin interrupted her thoughts, yelling as he flew at her again, scythe swung back.</p><p><em>‘Now! <strong>Vernier!</strong>’</em> Wendy coiled herself as she used a speed Enchantment, ready to pounce. As Erigor approached, he prepared a wide swipe, likely hoping to catch the girl when she jumped away again. But she didn’t jump away this time. Before Erigor began to swing his arms, she released the tension in her legs and sprang straight at him.</p><p>Despite just asking for it, Erigor was surprised by the sudden offensive, and hesitated for a second. In that second, Wendy had grabbed his weapon with both hands before he had finished swinging, fingers only inches from the bladed end.</p><p><strong><em>“Sky Dragon’s Crushing Fang!”</em></strong> Wendy’s fingertips glowed with a bright blue light, sharpening with wind infused power, and she tightened her grip. The wood of Erigor’s staff began to snap under the vice.</p><p>“Damn brat!” Erigor spat out. He swung a knee up into Wendy’s chest, knocking the wind out her. Then with a swing of his weapon, Wendy was thrown off, losing her grip and landing sprawled on the ground. The damage was done however, as the tip of his scythe broke off and clattered to the floor. With his weapon effectively turned into a stick, he tossed it to the side casually. “I really underestimated you kid. Not many would have the guts to jump straight into the jaws of death.”</p><p>Still coughing at Erigor’s blow, Wendy slowly got to her feet. “With your weapon gone, you only have your Wind Magic, which is useless against me. You’re done!” she said as confidently as she could.  </p><p>“You talk big for someone your size.” Erigor laughed. “But your unfortunately naïve if you think I need a weapon to kill someone.” He began drawing in the air around him and crossed his arms in front of him. <strong><em>“Air Mail!”</em></strong></p><p>The wind then began to wrap around Erigor much like it had the station. Darkening in color, Erigor became completely covered in the air around him like a suit of armor. His features could barely be seen underneath the new layer of current. Wind began to pick up around him, as his spell turned him into a localized tornado.</p><p>“T-That spell won’t do you any good. The wind can’t hurt me!” Wendy yelled, voice shaking slightly in worry.</p><p>“I’ll admit, I can’t use this spell how I normally would. But it has more advantages than just kicking up a breeze.” Erigor stated behind his windy veil. “For example…” He raised his hands, and the wind spinning around him picked up in speed.</p><p>“Ah!” Wendy raised her hands to shield her eyes from the force, but when she did, a leg flew into her abdomen. “Guh-” She flew back from the surprise blow, the wind empowered kick launching her down the street. She clutched her stomach as she got up, looking around to prepare for another attack.</p><p>Erigor had become a moving cyclone, flying around her with the force of a storm. “This technique has the benefit of increasing my speed and power. You may be able to nullify my Magical abilities, but our bodies couldn’t be more different!”</p><p><em>‘He’s to fast for me to hit now, but that spell must use a lot of Magic, I just need to absorb it.’</em> Wendy opened her mouth and began to suck up the air around her, but suddenly found a hand around her throat. “Hrrrrk!” She began gasping and grasping at the arm holding her neck.</p><p>“Death by suffocation. I don’t think I could come up with a more ironic death.” Erigor sighed disappointingly. “I thought I would be fighting a dangerous beast, but you’re more comparable to a little cub.”</p><hr/><p>Lucy looked at the chaos going on around her as she cleared her head from being tossed about inside Horologium. Sitting there in the station, she could see Happy and Carla running around like chickens with their heads chopped off, Grey hopelessly trying to drill a hole in the ground with his icy tools, and Erza yelling at him to work faster.</p><p>“Hey, can you move please.” a voice below her croaked. She looked down to see Natsu underneath her, trying to get up.</p><p>“Ah, sorry!” she apologized profusely.</p><p>As Lucy was getting up, Erza ran over and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her up and shaking her dramatically. “What’s going on out there!” She asked frantically.</p><p>Lucy tried to collect her thoughts against Erza’s assault. “That guy out there, he wants to kill Wendy!”</p><p>Erza looked surprised. “What?! Why?”</p><p>“I don’t know, but he seemed kinda worried about her.” Lucy said, trying to think of why. “I think it was because she ate his attack? That’s when he got serious.”</p><p>“But why would that-” Erza suddenly turned to look back at the Wind Wall separating her from her sister. “She would be able to get us out of here, that’s why he’s targeting her! Damnit Grey, dig faster already!”</p><p>“I told you, this isn’t exactly the easiest. My magic is usually for fighting, not digging holes!” He yelled back.</p><p>“Wait a minute, digging holes?” Happy suddenly stopped panicking to ponder the words Grey just spoke. “Why does that remind me of something?”</p><p>“Lucy, that Celestial Spirit from before can protect you from anything, right? Think we can use it to get out?” Erza asked.</p><p>“He won’t take damage, but he’ll still be blown away from the wind. You’d need to somehow counter the wind still.” Lucy explained. “None of my Spirits are good against him anyway. That guy took out Taurus, a Zodiac Celestial Spirit, in one hit!”</p><p>“Zodiac Celestial Spirit?” Happy repeated, holding his paws to his head, before suddenly shouting. “That’s it!”</p><p>Everyone looked over at the sudden exclamation, but instead of elaborating, Happy just started rifling through the small sack on his back. “Aha!” He suddenly pulled a paw out and held it up, revealing a familiar golden key.</p><p>“That’s Virgo’s key! Shouldn’t Everlue have it?” Lucy asked.</p><p>“Apparently, he got arrested, and that broke their contract. Virgo said she wanted you to be her new Key Holder.” Happy explained.</p><p>“And you’re just bringing this up now because?”</p><p>“I forgot okay?!” Happy said embarrassed. “But Virgo could dig holes, right? She could get us to the other side no problem!”  </p><p>“You’re right!” Lucy thought back to her job at the Everlue Estate, and how Virgo was able to tunnel around the estate good enough to keep up with Lisanna. She quickly snatched the key from Happy’s grip. “Give me that! <strong><em>Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!</em></strong>”</p><p>There was a flash of light, and Lucy prepared to be greeted by a pink haired gorilla, but when the light faded, she was instead greeted with a polite and petite maid, who wouldn’t look out of the ordinary if not for her prisoner cuffs and the chains dangling from them. “How may I help you, Mistress?” She bowed graciously.</p><p>“Y-You’re completely different…” Lucy stuttered.</p><p>“As the perfect maid, I can change appearance based off what my master prefers.” She answered plainly.</p><p>“I’m sure this is fascinating, but can we save it for after we save Wendy.” Erza asked impatiently.</p><p>“That’s right, sorry! Virgo, we can make a contract later. Can you please make a tunnel for us under this wind?” Lucy begged.</p><p>“Of course, my mistress.” Virgo said.</p><p>“Don’t call me- oh whatever, we can work it out later.” Lucy sighed.</p><hr/><p>Wendy knew that she messed up. She shouldn’t have fought Erigor herself. She should have gone after her friends. Or tried to run away. Or done anything that didn’t involve fighting a master assassin by herself.</p><p>She didn’t want anyone to help her because they’d disappear, but now that there was no one to help her, she’d disappear. She probably would have laughed if not for the iron like grip around her throat.</p><p>Though it was probably for the best. Lucy nearly got chopped in half trying to help her. It was only luck that she had survived, and she doubted the others would fair much better. That’s just how it goes with her.</p><p>
  <em>‘That’s right. I’m better off leaving my friends alone.’</em>
</p><p>“Leave our friend alone!”</p><p>
  <em>‘What?’</em>
</p><p>“What?!” Erigor yelled, looking behind him.</p><p>Through her teary eyes, Wendy could see Natsu lunging at Erigor. <strong><em>“Fire Dragon’s Iron Fist!”</em></strong> Natsu slammed his fist straight into Erigor’s face, slamming uselessly into his Air Mail. Undeterred, Natsu shot fire from his feet, and used the propulsion to twist in the air and kick Erigor in the face. <strong><em>“Fire Dragon’s Claw!”</em></strong></p><p>“Enough!” Erigor yelled. In a burst of his Magic, the storm around him grew stronger and blew Natsu away. “How the hell did you get out?!” Looking past him, Erigor could see a large hole in the ground, from which the other members of Fairy Tail were climbing out of. “Seriously, a hole in the ground? I guess you get to live brat. At least until I deal with your friends.” Tossing Wendy to the ground, he flew over to the rest of the Mages.</p><p>“You’d even hurt kids? You people really are despicable!” Lucy yelled.</p><p>Erigor simply shrugged. “Hey, I only went after her because she could get you all out. But since you managed to do that yourselves, I’ll just settle for making her watch as I kill you instead.”  </p><p>“You monster! We won’t let you kill her or the Guild Masters!” Erza declared.</p><p>“I’d like to see you try.” Erigor declared, getting into fighting position, wind whirling around him. <em>‘This isn’t good. Even if none of these guys have a way to damage me under my Wind Mail, it still takes a ton of Magic to keep up. There’s no way I’ll be able to take everyone out before I run out. I should just jump and beeline it to Clover Town. No one here should be able to keep up with my flight spell except…’</em> He glanced at the two cat-like beings, who were now floating with a set of wings. <em>‘Those two. I’ll take them out and make a run for it.’</em></p><p>Erza Requipped into her Heaven’s Wheel Armor and summoned a dozen identical swords in a circle around Erigor. <strong><em>“Circle Swords!”</em></strong> She pointed the sword in her hand forward, and on command the levitating weapons flew forward at their target. On contact with Erigor’s personal barrier though, all twelve weapons broke without causing a single scratch, just like with the Wind Wall.</p><p>Erigor barely acknowledged the attack, instead swinging his arms forward. <strong><em>“Emera Beam!”</em></strong> A giant blast of wind formed in front of him and shot out toward the group, tearing up the ground as it flew forward.</p><p>Grey jumped in front of his friends. “Stay behind me! <strong><em>Ice Make: Shield!</em></strong>” Four walls of ice shot out of the ground in a row, blocking the oncoming assault. After a few moment’s, there was the sound of ice shattering, then another, and another, until the last shield broke into a million pieces, sending everyone flying back.</p><p>Behind Erigor, Wendy lay on the ground, trying to catch her breath. She could hear someone approaching and turned her head to see Lucy approaching. “Wendy! Are you okay?!”</p><p>“I’m fine.” Wendy coughed out, massaging her sore throat. She tried to get up, looking over at the others sprawled around the street from Erigor’s attack. “I’m sorry…”</p><p>“What are you apologizing about? This isn’t your fault.” Lucy said.</p><p>“Yes, it is!” Wendy shouted, before she started crying “The only reason you guys are fighting is because I was here! If I just stayed away none of this would have happened, but now your getting hurt and its all my fault-” She was suddenly cut off as Lucy grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.</p><p>“This isn’t your fault. You can’t hold yourself responsible for other people’s actions. We’re fighting because you’re our friend, and friends help each other. I know your worried that we’ll leave your life if you get too close to us, but can’t you see that you’re the one leaving our lives thinking like this?” Lucy told the girl. “The best way to make sure your friends don’t go away is to stay as close to them as possible. That’s kinda what friends are all about.”</p><p>Wendy looked shocked at Lucy’s statement. “You make it sound so simple, but both my moms still left me, and I was the closest in the world to them!”</p><p>Lucy looked at her sadly. “I know, but sometimes the people that you love have to leave, even if you don’t want them to. My mom left me without warning as well. But that means you should try to spend as much time with the ones you do have.”</p><p>Back with the rest of the Fairy Tail members, Natsu jumped up in a rage. “Damnit! How are we supposed to fight this guy? None of our attacks can get through!” he complained, before getting a blast of wind to the face, knocking him down again.</p><p>Erigor laughed at the Dragon Slayer’s misfortune. “This is too easy! I don’t even need to use Lullaby to beat you all into the dirt! But…” In a burst of wind, he flew forward at the downed Mages, and grabbed Happy and Carla with an iron grip. “I have a job to do.”</p><p>“Happy!” Natsu yelled.</p><p>“Carla!” Erza exclaimed similarly.</p><p>Wind began to build in Erigor’s hand, ready to tear the two felines into pieces with his Magic. Right before he attacked, he felt a weight on his back. “Wha-?!” He felt a set of arms and legs wrap around him, and he turned his head to see Wendy had managed to reach him through his stormy veil and was now trying to grapple him, while sucking up his Wind Mail. “Damn brat! Take a hint and-”</p><p>
  <em>*Chomp*</em>
</p><p>“GRAAAAH! YOU <em>BITCH</em>!” Erigor yelled. Wendy had bit down at the base of Erigor’s neck like a Vampire. He started flailing wildly, trying to through the ferocious child off him, not noticing his protective spell slowly collapse in his rage. With his hands occupied by Happy and Carla though, all he could do was flail about in the air.</p><p>“Hey Erigor, hands off my friends!” Natsu yelled angrily, before lighting his entire body up in a bright blaze and launching himself headfirst at the assassin like a cannon. <strong><em>“Fire Dragon’s Sword Horn!”</em></strong></p><p>Erigor didn’t even notice the attack coming until it had connected with his midsection. It went right through his weakened Wind Mail, and his Magic dissipated as he was flown back by Natsu. He finally landed on the ground unconscious, releasing Happy and Carla safely from his grip. Wendy unfortunately had a rougher landing, with the knocked out Dark Mage sprawled on top of her.</p><p>“Wendy!” Erza quickly threw Erigor off Wendy like a bag of trash, before checking her sisters’ condition. The front of her body was covered in dozens of cuts from being in direct contact with Erigor’s Wind Mail spell, and her arms had many marks as well from his scythe. While none of them were life threatening injuries, the number of them was certainly a cause for concern. “What were you thinking, jumping straight into an attack like that? He could have killed you!” She tried to lecture.</p><p>“But if I didn’t then he would have killed you and the others, and then Gramps, and… I didn’t want you all to leave me.” Wendy said sadly. “I’m scared what might happen to you guys, but I realize you guys are just as scared about something happening to me, huh?”</p><p>Erza hugged Wendy. “Of course I’m worried, I’m your sister.”</p><p>Grey walked over to the two after a few moments, a grim look on his face. He was dragging Erigor behind him, who was now wrapped in a set of icy chains. “This is really heartwarming guys, but I think we have a problem.”</p><p>Natsu scoffed. “Killjoy. We trounced this entire guild! What is there left to worry about?”</p><p>“The guy I interrogated in the station said that Erigor had Lullaby, but I can’t find it anywhere.” Grey said.</p><p>Erza cursed. “We can’t rest until Lullaby is found. It might have blown away during the fight, search every inch of this town!”</p><p>The sound of an engine reached their ears, and they all turned to see a Magic Four-Wheeler suddenly barrel around a corner and turn into the station. A moment later, it could be seen driving down the tracks toward Clover Town.</p><p>“Hey, that was that Shadow Magic Mage I fought! He’s gotta have the flute!” Natsu exclaimed. “Happy, let’s fly!”</p><p>“Sorry Natsu…” Happy sighed. “But I’m completely out of energy right now.”</p><p>“I’m afraid I’m the same. That was all a bit too much for me.” Carla added.</p><p>“Quick, find another vehicle! Commandeer the damn train if you must! We have got to get there before him!” Erza ordered, and the Fairy Tail Mages immediately scattered to find a way to give chase.</p><hr/><p>Kageyama couldn’t believe his luck. When those Mage’s from Fairy Tail had showed up, he was worried that the plan would go up in smokes. But Erigor had of course planned ahead, and even though all of them at Eisenwald were beaten in the end, they knew their leader would finish the job. But when the Wind Wall suddenly disappeared, he was shocked to find the deadly Shinigami had been defeated.</p><p>Luckily, he was able to grab the flute of Lullaby while slinking in the shadows with his Magic and make a run for Clover Town. He wasn’t going to let Erigor’s faith in the Guild be misplaced. All he needed to do was get to the meeting of the Guild Masters and play this damn flute!</p><p>It was nightfall now, and he was walking through the forests just outside of Clover Town. He had nearly run out of Magic a while ago, between fighting that pink haired bastard and powering the Four-Wheeler, so he had to walk through the darkening woods the rest of the way. As he approached a clearing however, he could see the silhouette of someone standing in the center. He crouched down, trying to hide. He couldn’t risk a fight, not when he was so close to getting revenge on the old men that threw them to the darkness.</p><p>“Come out, member of Eisenwald!” The person in the clearing, a man, demanded.</p><p><em>‘Shit! How does he know who I am?!’</em> Kageyama panicked. Did those Fairies get here before him somehow?</p><p>The man sighed. “I don’t like repeating myself. You did agree to work under us, didn’t you?”</p><p><em>‘Work under them? Wait! Are they…’</em> Raising himself out of the shadows, Kageyama slowly walked into the clearing, clutching Lullaby to his chest like it was a newborn child. As he did, the moonlight revealed the man’s appearance. He had dark red hair and was wearing a red and black coat, with a sword on his waist. Most familiarly though, was the symbol he could see on his shoulder. The same one as the two that visited their Guild just a few days ago. “You’re a member of Oracion Seis?”</p><p>“I’m the <em>leader</em> of the Oracion Seis. I am Shuda, and I must congratulate you on completing your first mission, however messily it may have been achieved.” He said smugly, holding out a hand. “Now, I’ll be taking Lullaby.”</p><p>Silence reigned, as neither of the two moved a muscle. The two Dark Mages stared each other down, and a bead of sweat fell down Kageyama’s face.</p><p>“What’s wrong little man?” A feminine voice asked behind him. He quickly whirled to see Reina standing behind him, having emerged from the forest. “That was the job, wasn’t it? To retrieve Lullaby and give it to us.” she continued. “You even went the extra mile and unsealed it for us. Everything should be over and done. Unless…”</p><p>“You had other plans with that cursed relic?” A male voice to his side questioned, and Jegan entered the clearing, a dangerous look in his eyes. “Something like killing all the Guild Masters at their annual meeting?”</p><p>“W-What does it matter!” Kageyama shouted, panicking as he was surrounded. “You wanted to use it too, right? What’s the big deal if we do first!”</p><p>“The point of getting your Guild to do the job was to not draw attention to us. Then you had to go and cause a scene at Onibus Town. Now everyone knows it was us who were after Lullaby.” Reina complained.</p><p>“Your Guild got to focused on personal matters, throwing away your job and your future.” Jegan said bluntly. “At least have the decency to finish the job now.”</p><p>Kageyama looked around frantically at the three deadly Mages surrounding him and looked down at the cursed flute in his hands. “I’m sorry, Erigor.” He said sadly and dropped Lullaby into Shuda’s.</p><p>“Smart choice.” Shuda praised. “Here, your payment.” Shuda reached into his coat and deposited a purse of coins into the hands of Kageyama.</p><p>Kageyama just stared blankly at the money. “Now what?” he asked with an empty voice.</p><p>Shuda just shrugged. “That’s up to you. Unfortunately, I don’t think Eisenwald will be in a position to work for us anymore. However, with all that reward money, you’ll be able to do whatever you want by yourself.”</p><p><em>‘What do I want? My friends are gone, I’m out of a job, and I didn’t even get my revenge! What now…’</em> Kageyama thought, slowly sinking into the shadows and disappearing into the night.</p><p>“…Poor guy.” Reina said once she was sure it was just the three of them.</p><p>“He made his choice to put his friends over the job. He had it coming.” Jegan shot back.</p><p>“Enough. Despite the chaos, we have our objective.” Shuda said, holding the cursed instrument up. “So, how does it feel to finally be unsealed, Lullaby?”</p><p>“…” The wooden flute in his hand responded how one would expect an inanimate object to, the three-eyed skull adorning it remaining unmoving.</p><p>“You’re a stubborn thing, aren’t you?” Shuda sneered. “I know you’re more than an ordinary cursed object. You were touched by Zeref’s Magic weren’t you, <em>Demon</em>. I can smell his cursed stench all over you.”</p><p>“…Kakaka, you certainly aren’t very bright, if your taunting me despite knowing the truth.” A voice suddenly echoed from the flute, smog flowing from the skulls mouth. “How about you make it up to me by playing a little tune, eh? I’ve been starving for some more souls. How about finding those Guild Masters the other guy was talking about? They’re probably real tasty!”</p><p>“Apologies, but I’m afraid the only thing you’ll be playing is your swan song.” Shuda laughed darkly, before tossing Lullaby over his shoulders.</p><p>“?!” Lullaby glowed in a purple light, suddenly growing in size and power until it towered over the three Dark Mages a dozen fold. Its form was vaguely humanoid, but with skin of bark and branches. Horn’s and spikes were adorned into the tree-like monster, fitting its title of demon more closely. “You really think you can kill me before I kill you? I’m the Demon of Mass Murder, Lullaby, from the Book of Zeref! You three will make a great appetizer before I deal with those old farts!”</p><p>Reina just sighed deeply. “Did you <em>have</em> to piss of the giant demon?”</p><p>Jegan nodded in agreement. “It isn’t typical for a hunter to announce itself to its prey.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, he’s nothing special,” Shuda said, before both his hands lit up in violet flames. “Just another of piece of trash that Zeref left for me to clean up!”</p><hr/><p>It was well past midnight, and the members of Fairy Tail were in quite the panic. After scouring the still abandoned town for an effective means of transportation, they eventually settled for just ‘borrowing’ a train from the station and heading straight to Clover Town the proper way. Even with Natsu’s flames increasing the locomotives speed, getting to Clover Town had taken all night. As they finally pulled into the station, smoke could be seen billowing in the distance.</p><p>“Quick, this way!” Erza yelled as they jumped off the train running, leaving many confused passengers and station attendants standing at the boarding area.</p><p>Sprinting through town and down a few quiet roads led them to a remote mansion, with quite the crowd of elderly people standing outside. One of them turned to look at the approaching group and yelled back to one of his friends. “Hey Makarov, your problem children are here!”</p><p>A short figure pushed their way to the front of the crowd, revealing the Fairy Tail Guild Master. “Ah, perfect timing! We certainly seem to be in quite the pickle.”</p><p>The team looked around to see a bunch of trees burning with purple light, glowing ominously in the night. Erza started stuttering, unsure where to start. “M-Master, you’re all okay? How did he not…?”</p><p>Makarov raised an eyebrow in confusion, before shrugging. “What’s the problem? Anyway, I don’t know how you heard about this fire and got here so fast, but oh well. The blaze was getting close enough we thought we’d have to evacuate, but now that you’re all here, we can just have Natsu eat it up!”</p><p>“Hell yeah! I worked up an appetite and a half rushing over here, so it’s time to eat!” Natsu yelled, running toward the burning forestry nearby, the threat of cursed flutes completely forgotten. He shoved his face into a burning bush, but suddenly fell back in surprise. “Shit! That’s hot-?!” He yelled, before realizing what he had said.</p><p>Everyone looked over at Natsu’s outburst in disbelief. Natsu looked at the bush with a fierce look in his eyes and grabbed a nearby tree branch. He stuck the branch into the bush, lighting its tip with the same violet color, raised it toward his mouth, and in one fell swoop, the burning end was enveloped by his mouth. A moment later, he began to cough up the flame, putting a hand to his mouth. He looked up at blaze surrounding him in horror.</p><p>“I-I can’t eat it?!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Chapter: Trial by Fire</span>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Trial by Fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Erza and Natsu deal with the aftermath of the Eisenwald Incident, and Wendy takes her first new step towards others.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucy Heartfilia woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the morning rays on her skin. She stretched out, before climbing out of her bed, her own bed. After accidentally participating in the surprise suppression mission the other day, Lucy ended up receiving part of the reward for defeating the Dark Guild, finally allowing her to save enough for her own apartment.</p><p>Thinking back to Eisenwald gave her a bad taste in her mouth. While they may have caught all but one of the Dark Mages, the one that got away had one of the deadliest objects ever made in his possession. But despite that, the Guild Masters were all still alive, so she supposed everything was fine for now. What really bugged her was that odd forest fire. The purple flames were impossible to put out, and even Natsu couldn’t eat them. They ended up having to stop its spread by cutting off the fire from the rest of the forest and just let whatever it had touched burn away.</p><p>Shaking her head and focusing on the present, she looked around her new bedroom. While 70,000 Jewels a month was not a cheap price, it was certainly worth the price, and she didn’t want to live of the Strauss’s hospitality forever, even if she enjoyed living with them for the past couple weeks. She changed into a new set of clothes, grabbed her spirits keys, and opened her bedroom door ready to start a new day…</p><p>“Hey Lucy, about time you woke up!” Only to find Lisanna laying down on her couch, ready to greet her.</p><p>“AHHHH!” Lucy shrieked at the surprise visitor in her home. “What the hell are you doing here, trespasser?!”</p><p>“Trespasser? Fairy Tail members are family, so there’s nothing wrong with visiting family whenever you want.” Lisanna said, with a mocking hurt tone. “Besides, someone had to make sure <em>they</em> didn’t burn your house down.”</p><p>“That doesn’t mean you can just break in! Wait, who’s they…?” Lucy turned her head to the left to see Natsu doing crunches on her apartment floor, while Happy rummaged through her drawers.</p><p>“Hey Luce! Huff… Thanks for letting us drop by and warm up. Huff…” Natsu said between reps.</p><p>“I DIDN’T! What are you even getting warmed up for?!” Lucy asked exasperated.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I guess you weren’t there for it.” Another voice said behind her, and Lucy turned her head in alarm. To her horror, Grey stood in her kitchen wearing an apron, and only an apron. “Erza said she’d fight Natsu if he went on the Eisenwald mission.”</p><p>“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING!” Lucy shrieked.</p><p>Grey looked at her nonplussed. “An apron? I thought you’d want breakfast before we leave. How do you like your eggs?”</p><p>“…Scrambled.” Lucy answered plainly, before sighing and plopping down on the coach next to Lisanna. She supposed there were worse things in the world to wake up to than a half-naked man making you breakfast. She’ll just have to remember to have Natsu burn that apron later.</p><hr/><p>Fifteen minutes later and one incredibly awkward breakfast later, Lucy and the gang walked up to the Guild Building. Outside the building stood a crowd of Fairy Tail Mages, waiting for the big fight. Cana could be seen taking bets off to the side, and some of them were already drinking. Upon the groups approach they spread like a wave, revealing Erza standing stoically in the center of the crowd, a sword planted into the ground. Wendy was next to her sister, glancing between her and Natsu.</p><p>“You’re finally here. It’s been a while since we last fought, huh Natsu?” Erza grinned.</p><p>“That was when we were kids! I’ve changed a lot since then!” Natsu shouted.</p><p>The crowd began to form a circle around the two as they bantered. Lucy took a few extra steps back, knowing that collateral damage probably wasn’t in either of the redhead’s minds.</p><p>“I’ll admit you might have changed when it comes to your physical prowess, but you haven’t aged a day when it comes to the mental side of things.” Erza reminisced with a grin on her face.</p><p>“Are you calling me stupid? I feel like you aren’t taking this seriously!” Natsu said annoyed, before quickly developing a scary grin. “Maybe this will get you motivated. How about a bet, whoever wins gets to teach Wendy to fight again first!” He declared, pointing a finger at his fellow Dragon Slayer.</p><p>“What?!” Wendy looked at him shocked.</p><p>Erza suddenly stopped smiling, and the circle around the two Mages got suspiciously larger. She let out a hum, before drawing her sword. “I see. So you want me to take this seriously?”</p><p>Wendy immediately tried to ease the growing tension. “Guys, please! I’m sure you can both-”</p><p>“No, it’s fine Wendy.” Erza said, before Requipping into her Flame Emperor’s Armor and pointing her sword forward. “Now, come at me Natsu!”</p><p>Makarov now stood between the two, staff raised above his head. “Alright now, try not to hit<em> too many </em>buildings.” He told them, producing a rambunctious laughter from the crowd. “Ready…Set…G-”</p><p>“Hold it!” A voice called out right as the fight began. Natsu and Erza practically tripped stopping themselves at the sudden declaration. The crowd parted from the direction of the voice, revealed a bipedal frog, dressed in a set of professional garbs. Two soldiers stood stoically behind him. “I’m a messenger from the Council. Are you two Erza Belserion and Natsu Dragneel?” He asked.</p><p>“Yeah, what of it?!” Natsu yelled, upset at being interrupted.</p><p>“Please Natsu, show some respect. Is this an important matter? We were in the middle of something.” Erza asked.</p><p>The messenger nodded. “Yes, very important. With charges of property damage, arson, grand theft, and a dozen other incidents following the Eisenwald incident, the Fairy Tail Mages Erza Belserion and Natsu Dragneel have been place under arrest.”</p><p>Erza just stared at the messenger in shock. “…Eh?”</p><p>“Both of you are to be brought to the Council’s Fiore Branch for the trial and further questioning. Come along now.” The messenger continued, as one of the soldiers behind him produced a pair of handcuffs and walked towards the two.</p><p>“What the hell?! The Council can shove it!” Natsu yelled, before swinging a fist back, aiming at the approaching shoulder.</p><p>“Natsu!” Erza yelled in surprise. Even she knew that hitting a Council worker was tantamount to suicide. But before Natsu could finish swinging a hooded man in Rune Knight gear appeared behind him, grabbing his arm, and pinning him to the floor. The mysterious man then pulled out his own pair of anti-magic handcuffs and slapped them onto Natsu’s wrists. “Gah?! Who the hell?”</p><p>“Ah, thank you Doranbolt.” The messenger said nonchalantly, before turning to Erza. “I do hope you’ll come a little more peacefully.”</p><hr/><p>“The Mages Trial will now begin. Defendant Erza Belserion, you shall take the witness stand first.”</p><p>Erza and Natsu quickly found themselves standing in a large courtroom with the ten members of the Magic Council standing above them, and the Chairman even higher. While they were not here with their real bodies, their Thought Projections allowed them to all be in attendance for important matters such as this. The only people in the council member's actually in the room was the messengers acting as stenographers and a few Rune Knights, including the one that had captured Natsu. He stood close to the two, and Natsu kept shooting death glares back at him.</p><p>“Defendant Erza Belserion, concerning your actions the other day against the Dark Guild Eisenwald, there have been many complaints regarding your actions.” The Chairman said sternly, face shadowed by his oversized hat. “According to the Onibus Town station conductors, you incited a panic in the town, resulting in a stampede that caused untold damages. Later, your group was witnessed riding a locomotive that was later found all the way in Clover Town. Then, there was all the damage to the forest in Clover Town by what are reports claim was a ‘mysterious fire’. And finally, in the end, you failed to even recover Lullaby, which could have resulted in untold calamity! What do you have to say to these claims?”</p><p>“I’ll tell you what I think!” Natsu started yelling. “I think you’re a bunch of ungrateful-”</p><p>“Silence! It is not your turn to speak yet!” The Council Member in the center, Org, yelled back.</p><p>Erza shot Natsu a serious glare, and he quieted down, grumbling under his breath. She then turned to address the court. “I told everyone of the danger of Lullaby as to prevent any casualties in the town, as Erigor had stated he planned to use it there in the town. We had to… <em>borrow</em> one of the trains to chase after the Dark Mage with Lullaby. As far as I could tell there wasn’t any damage to the train, this time. The damage to the forest was to prevent the spread of the fire, which couldn’t be put out through normal means.” She explained. “Letting Lullaby slip away was entirely on me. That said, I assume that it is no longer a problem, considering you all are holding court instead of panicking.”</p><p>“Hmph, you should show more respect to your elders.” Another Council Member, Michello, said to her left. The man’s cat-like tail twitching in annoyance. “But yes, we believe the case of Lullaby to be solved.”</p><p>“How so?” Erza asked. She heard someone clear their throat, and she looked to the left to see one of the elderly Council Members, Byro, shuffling some papers. <em>‘That man. If what Jellal said is true…”</em></p><p>“In our clean up of the Clover Town forest, we found a tree shaped like a massive demon. It had been burnt into charcoal, but our Mages reported a small trace of Curse Magic on it. Analysis of the fire’s spread indicates that the blaze likely originated from that point. Our best guess is that someone found the Mage with Lullaby and burned both him and Lullaby itself to a crisp.” Byro told Erza, before turning to Natsu. “We had initially believed you were responsible for this act of pyromania, but it appears you weren’t… for once.”</p><p>“Grrr…” Natsu growled at the man. It was clearly taking all his willpower to not set the court room on fire.</p><p>“I see… Wait, demon?” Erza looked up confused.</p><p>“Lullaby was an artifact cursed by Zeref himself.” Another Council Member, Hughes, informed her. “He was known for using his magic to create living beings out of magic. It appears this turned out to be one. As a expert of magical objects, the idea creeps me out.”</p><p>“Enough.” The Chairman bellowed, silencing the room with his gavel. “If the matters of the case are clear, then it’s time for sentencing. You all are guilty, take them away!”</p><p>“What?!” Natsu shouted in shock, as two Rune Knights dragged him off. “Isn’t there supposed more to this stuff? I haven’t even talked yet!”</p><hr/><p>The two had been immediately dragged down to a holding center underneath the Council building and have been left there for the past couple hours. A guard walked by every few minutes to make sure they didn’t cause any trouble, but considering they still had magic-nullifying cuffs on, there wasn’t much they <em>could</em> do.</p><p>“Well, that went better than usual.” Erza said happily, sitting patiently in her new jail cell.</p><p>Natsu looked at his guildmate in disbelief, crouching angrily in the corner. “<em>Went well?</em> We were tried as guilty! I didn’t even get to defend myself!”</p><p>“Ah, I suppose this is your first time.” Erza realized. “This happens sometimes when there’s too many complaints on a mission. Usually there’s only one or two of the Council Members telling me off, but considering the danger of Lullaby, they had to all be there to look serious.”</p><p>“If it’s so serious, does that mean we’re gonna be here forever?!” Natsu panicked.</p><p>“No. Think of it like a parent telling their child to go sit in the corner and think about what they’ve done. We were told off, but they’ll probably let us out any minute now. The Council just needs to look like they’re doing their job.” Erza explained.</p><p>“When you say it like that, it sounds like we’re not doing anything at all.” An elderly voice said outside the two’s cell. Both turned to see Byro, one of the Council Members, standing nearby with one of the guards. The man was as old and small as their Guild Master, and far less intimidating when not staring down at them in court. “Though I suppose when it came to the Lullaby matter, that turned out to be true.” He clapped his hands and the guard opened the cell door, before removing the two’s cuffs. “Congratulations, your sentence’s have been served. Be sure to stay out of trouble for a while, if that’s possible for your Guild.”</p><p>“Seriously?! That really is it?!” Natsu looked surprised.</p><p>Byro just laughed. “Let me show you out.” He offered, walking toward the exit.</p><p>After walking up some stairs and weaving through a few halls, they all found themselves at the entrance to the Fiore Branch Council Building. “I don’t remember walking through so many halls to get down there.” Natsu said confused.</p><p>Byro shook his head. “The Council seems to pride itself on it’s convoluted building structure. You should try getting out of the Headquarters by yourself. Now then if that’s all-”</p><p>“Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions? Natsu, do you mind going on ahead.” Erza asked seriously.</p><p>“Uhh, sure. I’ll get us some train tickets.”</p><p>Natsu walked off down the road, leaving just Byro and Erza standing at the entranceway. Byro couldn’t help but gulp at the look that Erza was now giving him, like he was prey that had finally fell for a trap. “What… do you want to ask?”</p><p>Erza just stared at him for a few more moments. Finally, she spoke. “I heard that you and a few others were recommended as a member of the Magic Council by my mother. Is that true?”</p><p>“Yes, it is.” Byro answered slowly. “That fact isn’t well known, how did you hear about that?”</p><p>“A friend of mine. This recommendation apparently happened about four years ago, yes?” Erza continued questioning, brushing off Byro’s own. “I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about your relationship with her.”</p><p>Byro stood like a deer in headlights for a few moments, but eventually he just sighed and shook his head. “We’ve only met a few times, but in that time, she changed my world more than you could know. I was a member of a group that was one of the foremost experts in magical items. Despite that, we were unable to make any headway due to a… lack of materials, shall we say. Then one day, <em>she</em> showed up, with ideas of magic that were revolutionary to my people. She insisted that to best make use of my teams’ talents we should join the Magic Council, and she put in a good word for us.”</p><p>Erza looked at Byro with a mixed expression. “Did she say were she was before she met you, or after? Anything that could help me find her?”</p><p>The elderly man shook his head. “I’m afraid that her whereabouts were a mystery to me. She didn’t always act like one would expect, but she always had a sense of purpose to her actions. Something tells me she’ll find you before you find her.”</p><p>“… I see. Thank you for answering my questions, sir. I’ll try to stay out of trouble for a while.” Erza thanked the man in a quiet voice, before bowing slightly and walking off to find her guildmate, clearly saddened by the lack of new information. As she left Byro’s view, he finally let out a sigh of release.</p><p>“That woman sure is terrifying. I thought you were going to drop dead mid-interrogation, old man.”</p><p>“Ah?!” Byro turned around in fear, only to find the smug face of Hughes behind him, along with an amused Sugarboy. “Oh, you two. So, you all saw that?”</p><p>Hughes laughed. “Yep. She’s as serious and scary as a certain other redhead I know…”</p><p>
  <em>*Beep, beep*</em>
</p><p>Sugarboy looked to his arm and noticed the gem on his armband flashing a red light. “Hmm, maybe we should take this conversation elsewhere.” he suggested, before tapping the blinking gem on the armband he was wearing. Suddenly, the man disappeared, his Thought Projection fading.</p><p>“Well you heard the man, see you back in Era. Seriously though, I’m surprised you had the balls to lie to her face like that without cracking.” Hughes waved, before tapping a similar armband and vanishing.</p><p>“I don’t know what you mean, I technically didn’t lie to her about anything.” Byro looked at his own armband, taking a moment to appreciate its craftsmanship before tapping it and departing. <em>‘To think that </em>she<em> would be able to build magical items that mimic magic in this world as complex as Thought Projection, if only for a limited time. Don’t worry, Erza Belserion, I’m sure the two of you will meet very soon.’ </em></p><hr/><p>As the sun began to set in Magnolia, Porlyusica sighed deeply as she put away her medicine. Nearly half the Guild had ended up at her door after what was supposed to be a one-on-one duel into a giant brawl. Apparently, it seemed that Erza and Natsu being taken away before a single hit only made the crowd more rambunctious, and some idiot decided to start a fight themselves.</p><p>Bunch of idiots. And people wondered why she hated humans.</p><p>
  <em>*knock, knock, knock*</em>
</p><p>The familiar sound of someone knocking on her door reached her ears, and she bit back the urge to simply yell at the poor soul to go away. However, she couldn’t stop herself from stomping over to the door and swinging it open with a stern look.</p><p>“Now what?! Can’t you idiots stay out of trouble for ten minutes-” Porlyusica immediately went off, only to stop when she had to look down to see her visitor.</p><p>“Um, sorry for the inconvenience.” Wendy said sadly, fiddling with her hair. “I’ll come back later if your busy.”</p><p>Porlyusica looked at the girl in shock. She hadn’t seen Wendy in ages, mostly because the girl had begun avoiding her ever since her mother disappeared. It didn’t take much to figure out why. As a fellow recluse she understood there were many reasons why someone wouldn’t want to be around others. “It’s fine, child. What are you here for anyway?”</p><p>Wendy looked up at her nervously. “I-I was wondering…” she stuttered, before slamming her mouth closed and fidgeting.</p><p>“Out with it girl! I don’t have all day.” Porlyusica demanded.</p><p>“I was wondering if you could teach me again!” Wendy finally got out, bowing deeply.</p><p>“Hmm, is that so?” Porlyusica hummed. “You’re not going to run off again, are you?”</p><p>“No!” Wendy said defiantly. “I want to help people, that’s why Grandeeney gave me my Magic. I can’t help people by running away from them.”</p><p>Porlyusica nodded. “Well said. I suppose I can spare the time for a lesson or two.”</p><p>“Really?! Alright, what’s first?” Wendy asked.</p><p>“Nothing, it’s almost sunset. Did you expect me to just drop everything and give you night lessons?” Porlyusica shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>“Oh, sorry. I guess I’ll stop by tomorrow…” Wendy said with a dejected look in her face.</p><p><em>‘Damn brat, don’t make that face.’</em> Porlyusica winced, before sighing again and turning to walk inside. “I suppose I still have to clean up from the mess you all made earlier. If you have the time to hang around here, you might as well make yourself useful.”</p><p>Wendy suddenly looked back excited. “Of course!” She ran in after her new mentor, closing the door behind her.</p><p>Just behind a tree on the outskirts of Porlyusica’s house, a man covered in cloaks and bandages, with a bundle of staves on his back, watched the event pleased. “Wendy, I’m glad someone can be there for you.”</p><p>The sound of rustling cloaks and armor rattling could be heard. He turned to see another equally disguised figure approach him. Instead of a half-dozen staffs, this person had a few plates of armor attached to them, and some sort of long weapon wrapped tightly in a cloth on their back. “Are you ready to go Je- I mean Mystogan.” A muffled, but clearly feminine voice said.</p><p>Mystogan turned and walked off into the forest. “Yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do, Sieglinde.”</p><hr/><p>In the dead of the night, a strange girl walked down a hallway with a spring in her step, humming a strange tune. The walls were all cracked and mossed over, hardly the ideal environment for her experiments, but she couldn’t be choosy. After all, not every place had temples dedicated to gathering the magical power of the moon itself.</p><p>“Hey, Lamy!” A rough voice yelled down the hall. She turned her head, bunny ears flopping to the side, to find a muscular man bearing over him. “Don’t you have work to do? It’s a bit hard to keep an eye on you when you keep running around this place.”</p><p>Lamy just laughed at the man, producing a sound that grated his ears. “Oh, don’t be like that Doriate, we’re in no rush. I thought you all at Succubus Eye would love the chance to work with us for as long as you could?” She questioned, turning down another corridor.</p><p>Doriate just growled, before chasing after the odd girl again. “Don’t mock me. You know we’re only here because you promised to make us demons afterward.”</p><p>“Ah, yes. Well then, you’ll have to wait until my current experiment is over. Unless you want to risk turning into a mindless monster.” Lamy told him, finally turning into one of the rooms. It was filled with plenty of magical equipment that had skin and eyes, glowing and pulsing as if it were alive.</p><p>“About that, don’t you think that she might cause a bit too much attention to be drawn to us? Someone’s bound come looking for her.” Doriate complained.</p><p>“That’s what you’re here for, aren’t you?” Lamy shot an annoyed look at his constant pestering. “Besides, we can’t let a fish this big get away.”</p><p>The two looked in the center of the room, where a giant cylindrical glass tube sat, the fleshy bits around the room wrapping around it. The inside was filling with a strange glowing fluid, and floating within sat a sleeping Mirajane.</p><p>Lamy plastered her face against the glass, developing a monstrous grin. “Such a pretty girl. It disgusts me. I can’t wait to turn you into the ugliest demon imaginable!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Chapter: Demons of Galuna Island</span>
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